Herald of Death Book Three: End Time
by megamatt09
Summary: Final part of the trilogy, with the darkness looming, Harry is going to have to step up better than ever before. No one will ever be the same again.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: World's Collide Part One. **

"Broken busted, annihilated, it's beyond repair, all is lost."

Death sighed, she wished that she could sugarcoat the entire situation but after the events of the battle with Zod and indeed the years leading up to it, she was not certain quite where to begin. She was in the void between life and death, although she was guiding what was left of them both to Paradise. Her dark eyes flooded with a certain amount of misery, regret, the thought that she could save them but the sad realization that they might be beyond saving. The brutal thumping that echoed within her chest as she lead them through the void, all the way to the edge of it.

"All may not be lost, if we plan accordingly," Death managed although her breath became extremely fixed and rigid.

"Is it?" Lily asked, she wished to ask these questions of the guardian of the afterlife but she wondered if they could salvage what might not be salvaged.

Lara was the next one who answered. She was one of strong spirit, even when all seemed to be lost in the past, she would not give up. There was confidence, there was intensity, that was her in essence, and Lara's mind would not bend for anything.

"We won't….we won't falter," Lara agreed as her eyes continued to survey the situation. In another time, she wondered if such a thing was impossible but after all that she saw before, the possible was extremely impossible.

"I think that this plan is a desperate gambit," Lily remarked with a lengthy sigh as she kept her hand on the top of her head and she started to mutter fiercely underneath her breath. Her eyes continued to dance a tiny bit as she remained steady in her stance. "But….given the alternatives and there are many that are less than admirable, we don't really have much of a choice anyway, do we?"

"No, they are two broken pieces, if we tried to reassemble them as they are now, it would be just like trying to use duct tape to repair the damage from an Earthquake," Death told them as she placed her hands on them. "And the sands of time run quickly out, as the darkness looms ever so closer."

"Which means?" Lara asked.

"Which means that we have to do what seems to be impossible for them and for their sakes, let's hope this works," Death stated as she clasped a hand to the top of her head. A smile continued to grow over her face as she prepared for this desperate gambit. "So….are we ready?"

"Yes, we're ready," Lily agreed, nervously chewing on her lip.

It was a little known fact that this was one of the quirks that Lily Evans-Potter picked up when she was nervous. The chewing on her lip might endear herself to some people and Lara placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to steer her attention back to focus on the situation.

"We're in this together, remember?" Lara inquired.

"Yeah…..I'm just worried about how he might come out….well the sum of two messed up souls added together doesn't seem to be too pretty," Lily said with worry.

Harry got his optimism or lack there of from her although Death continued to guide both of them, battered and bruised, to a certain point.

"I will use this process to iron out as many of the flaws that I can and emphasize many of the great points of both of them," Death stated as she closed her eyes and allowed the energies to flow easily.

The broken battered form of Kal-El rested on one end. Death was sad that very few echoes of Clark Kent remained but they were faint. Not that Clark was a perfect person but he did have some good values that should be admired and respected. The woman looked at his form, there was sadness in her eyes, perhaps regret, perhaps any number of emotions but never the less, she considered everything that went through her heart and her mind.

Then there was Harry Potter, he had a nice road to the Herald of Death, although there were many roadblocks that was in his way. Some of those roadblocks were through his own creation and some of them were through external sources outside of anyone's control. It was the nature of what happened.

The broken battered form of Kal-El rested on one end. Death was sad that very few echoes of Clark Kent remained but they were faint. Not that Clark was a perfect person but he did have some good values that should be admired and respected. The woman looked at his form, there was sadness in her eyes, perhaps regret, perhaps any number of emotions but never the less, she considered everything that went through her heart and her mind.

"We're ready," Death informed them as they arrived at Paradise. "You better explain the situation to your niece."

The Heralds would be the only ones that knew, the Heralds would be the only ones that remembered, there were far less complications that way.

Death stared down the person at her feet and there was a second where she hovered over him. A single beat of her heart within her chest and she was going to begin.

This was the moment of truth, do or die.

Drama, she could do that as well as the next person.

'_Here goes nothing,' _Death remarked to herself as she cupped her chin and pushed her head back to do something that was unprecedented.

"Prepare to begin the recombination process," Death stated as she placed on hand over Clark's head and the other hand over Harry's head.

This would work, she was confident of that and confidence was about the only thing that they had going for them at the moment.

Kara stood at the edge of the island, watching silently. Karen joined her.

'_I can't believe it's gone this far,' _Kara said, despair creeping into her voice as Karen placed an arm around her younger counterpart.

'_Don't get upset, for her sake,' _Karen whispered, to Kara as she snuggled into her and the younger blonde nodded.

It would still be Harry for the most part as he had the stronger personality and sense of self, but if this was the only way to save Kal-El, then it would have to be done.

Death had to get special permission from the higher ups to do this but given that Kal-El would falter to the Darkness given his current path and that her Herald might do so as well due to his damaged mental state, she had to do what she had to do to have a stronger hero. A hero that would not allow the world to fall to the Apokolips.

"Begin the recombination process," Death said in a brisk tone of voice and everything began to glow brightly around them.

In a matter of days, maybe weeks, they would know if it was right. That was why should took the venue to Paradise because time would be on their side.

One thing was for certain, after today, both Harry Potter and Clark Kent would no longer exist.

* * *

Tess Mercer felt like an entire train full of insanity had run her over, at least that was what the prevailing thought that was going through her mind. Regardless, her stomach twisted into a vicious knot as she took a deep breath and looked at the trashed facility.

A while ago, Clark Kent and Harry Potter fought here, with Zod contributing to a deal of the property damage.

Tess's eyes glowed as her memories reset themselves.

It was a fight between Har-Rell and Zod that occurred in this location and it was violent. Zod wanted to kill her because of supposed treachery, at least that's what she remembered. There was a young woman with dark hair that was there as well.

"Have you found him?" Tess asked to the person that she was talking over the phone.

She had a feeling that there was something amiss with her memories but she could not pinpoint exactly what. She went over the point of order in her mind.

"No, Miss Mercer, but there were many people who were in the city that got crushed by the meteor shower, so he could have been destroyed," the subordinate begged off over the phone. Tess's lips curled with a slight smile as she clapped a hand over her side.

"I don't want excuses," Tess said coldly as she looked outside the window.

Her lover was missing and that was not something that she could willingly accept. He was the child that was sent to save the world, the last survivor of the Planet Krypton, Har-Rell, the son of Lil-Rell and Lara. How the boy had two mothers was an interesting quirk of alien biology; as well as genetic engineering. His real name was Harry Potter-Kent, or rather his Earth Name. He was found in a field by Jonathan and Martha Kent and raised with love and care by them.

Tess wondered why these details flashed through her mind.

A ringing of a phone caused Tess to pause as she reached her office. She saw that the call was from the Shining Light Foundation and her heart skipped a beat. She grabbed it with super speed, a quirk of the gift given from her beloved Har-Rell.

"Hello," Tess said.

"It's me," Chloe answered on the phone.

Tess's tone and voice faltered for a second as she closed her eyes in frustration. "Oh, it's you?"

Tess could almost sense Chloe frowning over the phone and her voice dropping, with a bit of hurt swimming from her tone. "Well, you're rolling out the welcome wagon, aren't you?"

"It's….Harry," Tess stated firmly to Chloe and there was a few seconds where she paused. "He's still AWOL after the meteor shower."

"I know," Chloe said, she had gone through this song and dance before. "Do you have the feeling that you've forgotten something extremely important and vital?"

"Yes, but I'm just chalking that up to the stress of the situation," Tess answered her and there was a second where she racked her mind. Everything was as it should be; there was no holes in her memories, not even a tiny pinprick. Nothing that could be exploited in any way whatsoever.

"Well….not to add to the bad news, but we've got a situation," Chloe commented to Tess and there was a grunt over the phone that indicated that now was the time for Chloe to continue.

"Figure you might as well spit it out now," Tess told her, wondering how this situation could get far worse than it was but she had been proven unfortunately wrong before.

"There was a ship that crashed in the center of Metropolis during the meteor shower and….there has been a certain amount of dark energy that pulsed through the entire Midwest, to the point where the scanners at the Shining Light Foundation are on the blink," Chloe informed Tess and Tess took this thought in stride, nodding slowly.

"I see," Tess told her as she ran different scenarios through her mind, each something that she did not want to think about. "What about the ship…."

"The government picked it up and it wasn't Checkmate, Martha is trying to find out what she can about the ship," Chloe told her. "And the media's railing on the Justice League for not preventing the meteor shower."

"Don't they know that they are super powered, not supernatural?" Tess asked in frustration.

Chloe's exasperation was clear as day over telephone. "Well, try telling that to these people."

"Just keep searching, along with the person flying the ship, unless they've been nabbed by the government as well," Tess said with a shudder at the thought.

"I've got the visual here…..she could be Kara's younger sister by the looks of her, although this is the only image that I have," Chloe told her.

Tess was putting the context clues together as the message was given to her. The redhead's hair framed her face as she thought about what happened. There was a sense of urgency that visited them all. The bond link did not work which meant naturally that Harry was either knocked out or worse.

Tess honestly feared for the worst given all that happened. Her stomach twisted into a vicious knot but she was about to get a nasty shock.

Someone knocked on the door of the office and Tess got up immediately.

"Call me if anything breaks," Tess said to Chloe, offering a hasty goodbye as she pushed her way towards the door.

She pulled it open in another motion to reveal two men in suits, staring her down. They had a stack of envelopes with her.

"May, I help you gentlemen?" Tess asked, she wondered why they were here.

"The owner of LuthorCorp wishes to inform you that your services are no longer required," one of the suits told Tess as he folded his arms.

This statement confused Tess to no end and she had only one response for it. Her lips curled into half of a smile, half of a grimace as she poked the rather prominent logic hole in this statement.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm the owner of LuthorCorp, myself and Harry Potter-Kent," Tess told them as she wondered what kind of game they were playing.

She was not in the mood to play games, especially given the frame of mind that she was already in.

"Lionel Luthor signed over control of the company to an heir before he died and his claims have been officially validated in a court of law," one of the men stated as he presented the document to Tess.

Tess read the document, hope fading from her heart. It was Lionel Luthor's signature alright; she read it enough times in the past. There was a sense that something really screwy was going on here.

"You have twenty four hours to vacate the premises and remove your belongings from any LuthorCorp owned buildings," the suit stated.

Tess continued to read through the document. She would fight this but the name of Lionel's handpicked successor was extremely curious. She read it over and over again, as if she couldn't quite believe the name.

"Chloe….it's me again, this situation has gotten serious," Tess informed her as she quickened her strides. She would have to clean out her desk and play this game for now.

'_You might win the battle but I'll win the war,' _Tess thought with a stubborn train of thought.

* * *

Much time had passed on the Island, although very little time passed in the real world. Three weeks passed in the real world thanks to the unique time dilation properties of the island, but it had been a year on the island.

Kara sat on a bench outdoors as she cradled a four month old newborn in her arms. She had the same bright green eyes that her father had, although she had blonde hair much like Kara. She had a strong grip although she wore a bracelet that filtered the yellow sunlight into red.

Given that she was already filtering yellow sunlight in the womb, she could potentially be extremely powerful. Then again, that was a given when you considered the fact she was the child of two extremely powerful people.

"And how is our precious little angel?" Harry whispered as he stepped towards Kara.

"Finally asleep," Kara whispered to him.

'_Then we better switch to mental link,' _ Harry thought to her and Kara smiled.

'_Good thing about being on the island is we're never short on any babysitters,' _Kara thought to him with a smile on her face. _'Maybe we can sneak her into the nursery this time without her waking up.' _

Harry sat next to his wife and young daughter. The Amazons doted on the young child, the first child born on the island since Donna was all of those years ago.

Meanwhile, Harry recalled memories that no one else remembered except him, Kara, Karen, Lily, Alex, and Clara. They were the only five people who recalled what happened with any kind of picture perfect clarity. It might seem weird what happened but they accepted it.

'_So, there are faint echoes of him, aren't there?' _Kara thought to Harry with a sigh.

'_Very faint, although I'm not completely Harry Potter either, Death had to combine the best parts of the two of us,' _Harry reminded Kara.

Which means he got the benefit of all of Clark's memories, including voyeuristic journeys involving a telescope and Harry closed his eyes with a grimace at that thought of those particular memories, he really did have some issues.

"Hey, Claire," Harry whispered as he saw his oldest, now fifteen years old. She was far from the young child who was tricked by Rose after her mind was screwed up all of those years ago.

"Mom, Dad," the girl remarked, with her flowing red hair and orange eyes, a souvenir from her meteor mutation, with her arms crossed over her chest. "And how's my sister doing?"

"She's fine, just asleep," Kara remarked as she cradled the child.

"Took long enough, didn't it?" Claire asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes, could you take her to the nursery, please?" Kara asked.

There was a second where Claire smiled down at her baby sister and gently took her in her arms as she walked off. Hopefully she would not be accosted by Amazons who would coo at her.

Cassie and Donna turned up to greet Kara and Harry with smiles on their faces. Cassie had been offered a chance to visit the island, something which she looked forward to for a long time.

"Hey, Cassie, Donna," Harry told them.

"Hey, where's Amanda?" Cassie asked as she looked around.

"Asleep, Cassie," Harry told her and the blond demigoddess pouted with the Amazon on the other side of her amused by her friend's pouting.

Amanda Lara Potter was the newest member of the Potter family.

"Ah, you look more adorable like that," Donna commented as she pinched Cassie's cheeks playfully, the ones on her face this time, before the blonde swatted her away.

"I've seen you pout like that, Donna Troy," Cassie told her and there was a second where Donna's mouth hung open. She looked amusing and then she snapped her mouth shut. She fought the temptation to pout. "That's what I thought."

"I should spank you," Donna told Cassie.

Harry smiled, he would like to see that.

The good news regarding all of this, as Harry returned to his thoughts on the merge, was that he still had the ability to fly along with all of his other powers. He was trying to figure out what flaw caused Clark to be unable to fly and he found, as he often suspected, it was an inability to balance between his human and Kryptonian heritage.

It was sad.

"I have more information, as much as I've been able to gather at least," Death told Harry and Kara as Karen, Clara, Alex, and Lily all turned up, They would all need to know this.

Diana had departed to collect some people to bring them back to Paradise to brief them on the situation given that what happened.

"There is a darkness from the past that will return, far greater than life itself, he will corrupt even the brightest light," Death told him as she watched him. "This is why we had to combine you as we did because there was no hope the way things stood like they did."

Harry placed his hand underneath his chin and nodded swiftly. He had only one statement to this word.

"Does this threat have a name?"

Death took the plunge. "He is called many things but he is referred by those who he has crushed, snuffing out all hope as one thing and that is Darkseid."

Now Harry felt a chill to his bones at that name and rightfully so.

"And he is here, waiting to corrupt souls, and it has already begun," Death warned her Herald.

"And it's up to us to find him," Clara remarked, she had heard whispers as well.

"It's the final chapter of the Covenant," Alex breathed as she shuddered at the thought. "The Darkness arrives, to snuff out all hope, the Anti-Life."

Everything had happened as foretold, except the end, which was coming.

There would be no hope if they did not succeed, there would only be Darkseid.

* * *

Saying that someone got their entire life turned upside down was pretty much old hat by now but that was what Lois Lane thought. The world that they knew, well she had this subconscious and nagging feeling that it changed.

Clark disappeared, not that it mattered because Lois was the only one that remembered he existed.

Perhaps she was going insane or perhaps she was the only one in the world that was sane. She had no idea what one was more frustrating to be honest with her.

"I can't believe Clark just vanished like that," Lois grumbled one day and Lana's eyes turned towards the woman, blank confusion in them.

"Who is Clark?" Lana asked in confusion. "Is that some co-worker at the Daily Planet or something?"

Lois wanted to pull her hair out by the roots but she remained extremely calm, scarily so at the very least. Her gaze fixed onto Lana's as she tried to keep herself from blowing a gasket, as enticing as that might be.

"Lana, I'm not feeling well, could you tell me about your life story?" Lois asked, wondering if this sounded as insane out loud as it did in her head.

If Lana thought that there was anything out of the ordinary by that request, she did not say anything, at least right away. Rather her face contorted into a smile.

"Lois, it's been hard since….well he vanished," Lana told Lois and there was a whistle smile on her face. "You know….Harry."

"Yes, I know Harry," Lois remarked, pleased to see that Lana's brain had not been completely fried.

"You were right in the middle of the meteor shower, so of course….of course I'll be able to help you," Lana said with a smile. "I lived my entire life here in Smallville….well that was before my parents died in the meteor shower."

Lana had a far off look in her eyes.

"I lived down the street from my neighbors, the Kents," Lana told him. "But I took a special interest in their son."

"_Clark Kent,' _Lois thought to herself.

"Harry Potter-Kent," Lana remarked as she smiled wistfully.

'_Okay, this is fucking new,' _Lois thought to herself but she shook her head to clear the cobwebs.

"Yeah…I followed him around like a lost puppy dog, but I think that he didn't take much interest in me for years, he was always interested in Chloe," Lana remarked although there was no bitterness in her voice. "Of course, when he grew up, he learned the benefits of sharing. Naturally that was helped along when his cousin showed up."

"Kara, right?" Lois asked.

"Yes, who else do you think his cousin was?" Lana asked as she shook her head at amusement, wondering of Lois had some kind of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Never mind, please continue," Lois said dismiss fully.

"Well Harry decided to let me in on his secret during our Junior year of High School, which was a relief because if he didn't tell me, we would have had a lot of unnecessary drama that would have annoyed anyone who would have watched us," Lana commented in a joking manner.

"Right…so you didn't hook up with Lex Luthor," Lois remarked to her.

Lana looked extremely appalled at the thought. "Lex Luthor? Why would I hook up with Lex Luthor? That sounds like something out of bad fan fiction."

Lois wondered if the meteor shower had sent her into an alternate timeline because to be honest she had seen a lot weirder.

"So Raya and Alicia…."

"Yeah, of course Alicia's here, she's my best friend, like the sister I never had," Lana remarked to her in a gushing voice.

'_Okay, now I think I landed in Bizarro World,' _Lois thought to herself.

"So….Lex is bald right?" Lois asked.

"Of course he was, why do you ask?" Lana asked in confusion.

Lois let out a sigh of relief. "No reason."

"You better lie down Lois, get some rest, everything's going to be okay," Lana told her.

Lois thought that matter could be debated but she turned around to see Raya. When Lana was out of earshot, Raya leaned towards her.

"They don't remember it, do they?" Raya asked Lois.

"Wait….we….you….you….you poisoned Clark!" Lois remarked.

"I didn't….it was a subliminal order that Jor-El programmed into my mind before sending me into the Phantom Zone and he reinforced it at the Fortress during my brief first stay," Raya explained to Lois but Lois didn't seem too forgiving. "I regret what happened to Kal-El….well it's technically Har-Rell now isn't it?"

"I guess," Lois offered in a flat tone of voice, wondering if her day could get any weirder than it already was.

And she knew that was a stupid question considering her luck.

"I will have to apologize to him later but Jor-El suspected that it would happen," Raya told her as she surveyed Lois. "In case Zod and his followers escaped from the orb."

Lois had a thought.

"Where is Zod?"

Raya's eyes flickered in thought and she looked around. It would be foolish to assume that Zod perished in the meteor shower, he was too much of a survivor.

The real question was, where was Zod?

* * *

Zod squirmed underneath the red solar lamps in the basement that he had been put. His eyes dripped with hatred but his body was weak and mortal. His mind was still as strong as ever.

"You give me what I want and I won't snap your neck."

Zod tried to remove the shackles from his wrists but found that he was bound. The young man across from him watched him, a grin spreading over his face. His features were mostly entombed in the shadows, although Zod had a pretty good idea of who he thought it was.

"So you've finally given into your base instincts, just as I expected you would," Zod told him as blood dripped from his mouth. "You won't win, not against me, not against the Kandorians."

"I see only you, Major," he commented in a soft tone of voice. "The city….it's looking forward to worshiping its new favorite son. The restoration of Metropolis is about completed."

Zod's injuries, while not fatal, were abundant. There was an instant where he felt a touch of fear but it was only a touch of it. He refused to show it on his face because he was not beaten, at least not yet. He pushed his head up and there was a sense that he was at the end of his road.

"So….you're going to finish me off, aren't you?" Zod asked, there was a question in his voice and a flickering of pain across his face.

"In due time, but not now, first I need you to sign something, do so and I won't snap your neck," he said quietly.

"You won't get away with this," Zod told him as the papers were forced into his hand.

"Well, it's funny what we can get away with," he remarked to him. "You've been given free reign but I could send you to the government, your powers stripped from you. See this."

He held out a syringe with a yellow liquid inside it from a box.

"That's liquefied golden Kryptonite and there are no take backs, your powers will be completely gone, forever," he told him with a smile. "Then again, with the shock, your death, while inevitable, will be slow and extremely painful."

"You sicken me," Zod managed.

There was a slight chuckle although it was uncomfortable for all.

"Considering your own actions I don't think you have the ability to take any kind of moral high ground," he remarked in a crisp tone of voice as he closed his eyes. There was a smile as he opened them back up. "Here's the deal….sign the papers and you accept your freedom. Don't sign the papers, and I'm not going to apologize for what I'm going to do because you brought it upon yourself."

Zod knew that he was signing over valuable resources but at the same time he was resourceful enough. There was a sense that no matter what he tried, he'd be a survivor, he was always a survivor, and no matter what, Zod would live. There was something of an undercurrent of hostility in his eyes, flickering through them extremely dangerous.

"You won't get away with this in the end, I will survive," Zod spat but with malice he signed the paper and he passed it into the hand of his adversary. "I hope you choke on that signature."

"Don't worry, your survival has been ensured for now, I'm a man of my world, I won't snap your neck," he stated as he reached into his coat and pulled out another syringe, filled with liquefied green Kryptonite.

He was a man of his word after all; he would not kill him by snapping his neck. His eyes glowed with fury as he plunged the syringe into Zod's shoulder, injecting the Kryptonite directly into his veins.

Zod felt his heart speed up to the point where it was nearly trying to escape through his chest. He found his lungs not working as they should. He tried to get up. He would not die on his back; he would die standing, looking this enemy in the face, like a man.

Thump, thump, thump, his heart tried to escape through his chest but there was no sense that he was able to stand up straight. There was a mocking wave that was given as the man fell over like a brick, with a thump into the ground.

"Can't say this is a tragedy," he commented in a partially mocking tone of voice as he looked down at the man on the ground.

Two figures walked down the hallway to greet the man entombed in the shadow.

One of them had long blonde hair that framed her face quite nicely. Her alluring blue eyes could be seen and while they held warmth, they only showed it for one person, along with the devotion. She was dressed in a tight white blouse that emphasized her curves, along with a jacket. She had a micro-mini skirt that wrapped around her tight ass and her delicious legs were encased in sheer stockings, a pair of high heel boots, used for stomping her enemies finished off her outfit. She was Kara Zor-El of Earth Three, although she was better known as Ultrawoman.

The second figure had dark hair that hung off half of her face like a curtain. Her blue eyes were sinister although they held devotion for one person and one person alone. Her large breasts were wrapped in a tight top that was a couple sizes two small. She had the perfect hourglass figure with all of the delightful features that went along with it. She was Diana of Themisyrica of Earth Three, the last survivor of the Amazons who had been wiped out by Ares. So she hated all men except for one. She was known as Fury.

"Yes, ladies," he told them and they bowed before him.

"My Lord," Fury told him with a smile on her face. "All of the Lex clones have been dealt with except for one."

Harrison Luthor nodded at this, Lex, whether he was a clone or otherwise, could pose a problem.

"The original prototype clone has gone missing," Ultrawoman told him and Harrison remained stoic.

"Have it found and annihilated, Lex will pose a problem no matter the form," Harrison commented.

When your last name was Luthor, survival of the fittest was the first rule you learned.

* * *

Tess sat outside, her things all packed up as she mentally prepared for her chance. There was a ringing of her phone.

"Hello, Tess," a very familiar voice said over the phone.

Tess paled as she felt like she saw a ghost, mostly because she was pretty sure that this person on the phone was pushing up daisies somewhere.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Tess asked him over the phone.

She knew that his body had been burned to ensure that no one could get their hands on it. Yet, it was Lex's voice.

"I've returned and I've been disappointed to see that you've let my birthright slip away," Lex commented although his voice was more raspy than normal.

"I….you're dead," Tess breathed as she wondered what this game was.

"Watch your back Tess, I will claim Metropolis, and any pretenders to my throne will go down," Lex remarked to her. "And tell….my dear pal the Kryptonian that if he doesn't meet me within twenty four hours, then people will suffer. Innocent people will suffer."

Tess did not know what happened.

"You're sick," Tess stated but a goon grabbed her from behind.

"The boss wants to have a word with you," the goon remarked but Tess threw him down with a judo throw and pinned him onto the ground.

"I don't think I will," Tess offered as she struck a pose, her hands on her hips and her head turning around. The redhead offered a smile as she took a step forward.

When there was one goon, there would be several more and her stance became extremely rigid. She started to blink.

There was someone who knocked the goons down from behind and Tess looked up.

"Diana?" Tess asked with a smile. "The entire world…."

"I know, the world has changed, it had to be done, it was the only way to save them," Diana stated.

She recalled how things were before the merger but it was obvious that some people remembered how things used to be prior to the point.

"I….I'm having this sense that I'm remembering a different timeline than I should," Tess told Diana, wondering if it sounded as insane.

"Your memories are not as they should be," Diana informed her. "Your mind…it's rebelling against the changes because of your strength of will."

"So that's why I'm remembering a person who no longer technical exists?"

Lois turned up right then and there, facing Diana. The two locked eyes with each other.

"Does the name Clark Kent ring a bell to either of you?" Lois asked them.

"He's no more," a voice said.

Death stood there, dressed in a hooded jacket and sweat pants, chewing on an apple.

"What about Harry Potter?"

"He's no more," Death commented.

"You're….what's going on here?" Lois asked.

She was so fucking confused that it wasn't funny.

"Harry Potter and Clark Kent, their souls and bodies had been damaged beyond repair and their mental capacities decayed due to outside influence," Death informed Lois who nodded her head in understanding. "Some will recall the old timeline with clarity, while others will recall subconscious echoes. And others yet….they will recall the entirely new timeline where Har-Rell existed and there was never a Clark Kent or a Harry Potter in this world…at least not in that sense."

"Wait….wouldn't he just be Harry Kent if the Kents found him?" Lois asked in confusion.

"There are many paradoxes about this timeline but I can assure you, I detest how vague it is as much as you do, the fact of the matter is certain changes could not be too jarring or it would shake up the time-space continuum," Death informed them.

"So we're in an entirely big paradox to end all paradoxes," Chloe stated as she turned up. She was summoned here. "What about….Lana….Alicia….Raya?"

"You remember it don't you?" Tess asked.

"I did, but I didn't trust the lines going in and out, because someone was tampering with things," Chloe remarked to Tess.

"There's a lot you need to know, I will take you all to Paradise….all three of you… for now," Death informed them and Chloe, Tess, and Lois nodded in agreement. "There's something that you need to know."

"Lex….he's looking for Clark but there's no Clark," Chloe informed Death who nodded.

"There's technically supposed to be no Lex, it appears that Mr. Luthor went to his own lengths to cheat Death through the process of genetic cloning," Death told them as she inclined her head and smiled. "Time for you to meet Har-Rell for the first time….but we may have more problems."

Death knew that her time on this plane was growing shorter, especially with Darkseid's approaching presence. He might have already found a vessel to use for all she knew.

Then there was the other, Harrison Luthor, who had mastered his universe's version of Death and stole her powers as his own.

She summoned her full abilities to transport the group to the Island where many questions would be answered, even though she felt that many more yet would be raised.

**To Be Continued in Part Two.**

Written on September 18th and 19th 2013, Published on October 29th 2013.


	2. Chapter 2: World's Collide Part Two

**Chapter Two: World's Collide Part Two.**

Lois Lane landed on the ground with a distinct lack of grace, with Chloe Sullivan-Potter and Tess Mercer-Potter landing next to her a moment or two after. The three women looked up towards the island. There were times where only one word was needed and Lois was the one that decided that it was prudent to voice it. Her lips pursed together as she let out a breath, with a smile crossing her face.

"Wow," Lois managed as she took in the beauty of the island paradise.

Chloe smiled and blinked as Tess was too awestruck for words. She was sure that with a few seconds thought she could blurt them out but right now, they failed her in the most spectacular manner. She place her hand on her head in order to brush her hair out of her face.

"Welcome to Paradise, I'm Queen Hippolyta."

This statement was given to Tess's benefit more than Chloe's Chloe took in the woman, an older version of Diana, with the same beauty that the Princess of the Amazons had. She had dark hair, with alluring blue eyes that burned into her face. Chloe did not back down for a second from her, she stared back.

"Your majesty, it's an honor to meet you again," Chloe stated as she nudged Tess and Lois, who both nodded. "I'm sure I can speak for all of us to say that your island is majestic."

Tess wished that she knew this location existed before today, although she heard Diana and Harry mention it in the past. She wished that she knew it existed a long time ago because she wanted to set up a retirement home here and crash for a long time. She shook her head to bring herself back to a coherent string of thoughts and placed her hands on the top of her head.

"Yes, it's an honor," Tess agreed in a diplomatic tone of voice as she reached towards the queen and grabbed her hand, shaking it.

Hippolyta shook the hand of the woman, feeling the warrior spirit swimming through her eyes. This one was a survivor and that was a fact that the Queen of the Amazons appreciated. The two of them surveyed each other with smiles on their faces.

"So…."

"I think we want to know what's going on, no offense, Hippolyta, but we're kind of confused," Lois commented to her.

Hippolyta nodded. "You are one of those who remember how it was, when Kal-El and Harry Potter, the Herald of Death, existed as separate entities."

"So you know about it…."

"Amazons exist outside of the pull of time and space, any shifts in reality do not affect us," Diana told Lois and she nodded.

"And why do I remember?" Lois asked as she closed her eyes.

She had a feeling that she was missing some vital piece of information as to why she remembered but the final puzzle piece dangled just out of her reach, almost taunting her, tormenting her as if it was pushed underneath her nose but she could not figure out exactly what it was.

And when Lois Lane had a puzzle, she was determined to solve it.

"Hey, Lois."

Lois turned her head slowly, and saw Harry there, kind of, well it was Clark as well, kind of.

Lois also kind of had a headache because of all of this temporal paradox and reality shift bullshit.

"Okay, seriously, did I get dropped into some alternate time stream or not?" Lois asked them in frustration.

Harry smiled at her, although it was a smile that meant Lois was going to get her questions answered in a way that made her wish that he hadn't answered her.

"There was a temporal shifts…..but the timeline is the same, everything you experienced happened, as you remember it, but the memories of some people have been modified to reflect a new one," Harry commented to Lois and she placed her hand on her chin.

"Why didn't my memory get rewired then?" Lois asked.

Kara turned up to join Harry, Karen alongside her as well. Alex stood off to the side in the shadows but said nothing, at least for now. Her eyes said more than enough about the thoughts that were flickering through her mind.

"There are certain qualities, Chloe your memory didn't get rewired did it?" Kara asked.

Chloe shook her head in negative. "No….I remember…..every single detail to the letter, even the traumatizing ones."

"What about you, Tess?" Harry asked the redhead.

"I was remembering the new set of memories for a short while….but I guess it didn't take since I remember how everything happened before reality shifted to reflect the changes. It was pretty confusing for a time," Tess told Harry and he nodded, pulling the redhead into a reassuring hug.

This was the same Harry that she knew, even though he got an upgrade or maybe it was Clark that got the upgrade, with Harry….actually Tess wasn't going to try and think about it. She preferred to think of it as a company merger, the best parts of two extremely flawed properties taking their great qualities and trying to work together to achieve something even greater.

"And it's for the best because Clark would not have dealt well with what's coming next," Alex remarked to them.

Chloe's curiosity was heightened. "And what…."

"The end of everything," Harry stated in a cryptic tone of voice.

"We've weathered that storm more than once," Chloe remarked, she knew that despite everything, despite no matter how hopeless it looked, the day would be saved, even though this entire mess was much weirder with Harry and Clark merged together into one entity.

"This time, it's different," Harry told Chloe and the woman raised her eyebrow.

"How different?" Chloe asked, she felt a sense of foreboding based off of his tone, she was not going to lie.

"This is the big one, the one that was supposed to be Clark's ultimate test," Harry commented.

"I thought that Clark's inside you or something," Chloe said in confusion and she shook her head. "Bad mental images, Chloe, bad mental images."

"Indeed," Harry commented dryly, not pleased with this circumstance any more than she was. The blonde shifted herself. "So….anything happen in the three weeks that I was gone?"

Tess's sigh became rather prominent as she nodded. "Yes, a few things, I'll fill you in on it."

* * *

Harrison was not someone who caved in well to the demands of anyone. He marched to his own beat and he was good at what he did. He was the best Luthor, despite having not one drop of their blood in his veins. He was just that amazing at what he did and now his eyes ran over the printouts from the lab.

"A disgrace," Harrison breathed. He gave the lab technicians one order, destroy all of the clones, and they couldn't even do that.

He could tell the type of people that LuthorCorp hired before he'd taken control was lacking, hence why he had to figure out a way to make the company work far better than it was in its current state.

It was a good thing that he did not walk alone and he had more than a sufficient amount of help.

"No luck yet," Harrison said through the communication link.

Adopted on a whim by Lionel Luthor, Lionel created his own monster. Everything that he wanted in a son but far better, Harrison passed all of Lionel's tests. Which lead to some resentment between him and Lex but he had more than enough issues without Harrison being there.

"No luck yet," Ultrawoman told him as she would crush the clone for causing her lover so much grief.

Harrison's smile grew calm, although there was a false sense of security that came from a type of smile.

"He's underground somewhere, fitting for a cockroach," Harrison remarked as he paced around his office, formally Tess's, like a caged animal. He tended to do things like this when he was under an extraordinary amount of stress although once again he tried not to show it.

He knew that one Luthor left unaccounted for, it could upset the applecart. He had been slowly trying to forge an identity in this world. There was a mistake or two that he made in the past that he endeavored to correct now that he was in the here and now. He knew everything that was at stake and he'd be damned if he was going to do anything but be the best at what he could do.

"Sir, there's a transmission coming in….it's from him."

It was the mark of his extreme patience that Harrison did not slam his hand down upon the desk in frustration. No a man with less patience would have done that.

"Please put it on," Harrison commented.

As always, Lex was a pain in the ass. Destroying him was not the problem, it was finding him, and he has a notorious ability to squeeze through the cracks. It was like a never ending cycle of cat and mouse, a demented game of tag really when one peeled back the layers.

Never the less, despite his distaste for his "brother", Harrison felt that learning what he had to say would present a vital clue to where he was holed up. He tapped his fingers, carefully increasing the increments as needed and he leaned, his ears perked up towards the other end of the communication.

"You've been dealing with a pretender to the Luthor Throne, but don't worry, the prodigal son has returned to save you, but first I must deal with a ghost from my past," the garbled and raspy voice of Lex stated. "Don't worry, I'm here to save you….save the entire world from him. He won't be able to continue with his lies any long."

There was a second where Harrison's eyes flashed with fury but he calmed himself. Regardless, he was not pleased by calling a pretender by a clone. His fingers clenched as he thought about the situation and fury danced through his eyes.

"But there's this ghost that I have to deal with, a ghost from the past, and he knows what he is, he knows who he is," Lex remarked in an anger filled voice. "I'm not too happy with someone who keeps secrets from me. We were supposed to be friends, we were supposed to be closer than brothers."

There was an undercurrent of bitterness in Lex's voice and Harrison could not help but make a comment about that.

'_Butthurt much,' _Harrison thought in amusement. It was true, Lex was acting like the jilted lover to end all jilted lovers about his friendship to Clark. Harrison could care less about that.

He was interested about his counterpart in this dimension. Harrison managed to peek through the interdimensional curtain a few times before the Book of RAO opened a big enough door to allow him and his devoted few to cross through to this realm. Despite mastering and then draining the abilities from his version of Death, who was a psychotic bitch, opening gateways between dimensions took a lot of time and effort.

Context clues indicated that he was not the only one who passed through the barrier into this universe, there were rifts in time and space involving at least two other universes. These problems could escalate but he would worry about that when he tied up the loose ends.

Now, his curiosity was heightened by the fact that Lex cloned himself so many times. It was almost like he was trying to achieve the perfect version of himself. Some of the clones were completely degenerated in his mad attempt to infuse them with powers.

Harrison plotted his next move, it was like chess, each attack required calculated precision, careful planning and determination to see thinks through.

"Someone just arrived in the city, you might want to take a look at this, Harrison," Ultrawoman told him.

Harrison brought up the visual and he saw a blur arrive in the town. He punched it up as much as he could to slow down the visual so he could see things clearly.

He had one of the many questions that went through his mind answered, where his alternate self was. The one that was native to his dimension.

Then again, the name Harry Potter on the LuthorCorp books, as Tess's partner, he should have linked them together.

That was a name that was so dead to him. The sheep, the lemmings, any other term that he could use to describe those inferior sacks of flesh that waved wands, who made it into a symbol for that world but didn't bother to find out where he went.

He had all but vanished from that world thanks to a contingency set up by his mother and then Dumbledore died of a close encounter of the Deathstroke kind arranged by his father, well they had no symbol. The sheep were lost little lambs without their shepherd and the world imploded upon itself. Harrison got the galleons, a few of the bitches for fun although he got bored of most of them when they dried up pretty quickly and were unable to sate his desires, and also revenge against the world that bred the monster that killed his mother.

Clearing his thoughts, Harrison went back to focusing on the future instead of his past.

* * *

'_Well the vacation's over,' _Harry thought to himself as he sped back into town, his heart hammering across his chest as he reached the edge of Metropolis.

It was nice whilst it lasted although he figured that he could not hide on Themysicra forever. Although he'd been there for nearly a year already, but it was something that he wished that he could have milked a little bit longer.

"Clark, Clark, come out and play," Lex taunted.

Tess appeared beside Harry, and she was not the only one. Kara, Karen, and Diana were all suited up and ready for battle.

"Should we bother telling Lex that….well that Clark has technically left the building?" Tess asked.

Kara raised an eyebrow and she looked at the redhead with an exasperated expression on her face. "Are you going to try to reason with a madman?"

Tess shook her head, she took the point well.

'_Chloe….is the Shining Light computers….still working…'_

'_Yes, although I think that they're were kind of rattled by everything that happened, but the old girl is soldiering on,' _Chloe thought to them.

'_I think that I can assist.'_

Harry was not expecting to hear that voice, given that the last time that he heard her, she was not in the best of shape.

'_Indy are you…'_

'_I've made the necessary repairs and my system is working at optimal levels, although I do commend you for correcting the redundancy,' Indy remarked as she paused. 'But I think that this duplicate of Lex Luthor…it should not exist. Although I would not blame you for not trusting any data that I give you.'_

'_That was Zod corrupting you to turn you into that thing,' _Kara thought to her.

They were about to find out that yes, advanced AIs could acquire guilt complexes about as much as the next person. It was amazing that something like this could be possible but it was true, one hundred percent of the way.

'_I thank you but my programming should have been secure enough that he shouldn't have been able to shift a few variables and change it completely,' _Indy commented in a crisp tone.

'_Indy…help us the best you can,' _Harry thought to her.

'_Yes, Har-Rell,' _Indy thought to him as she closed her eyes. _'It appears that the transmissions have been bounced all over the city.'_

'_The real question is, is Lex nuts enough to think that he might die, create a clone, and they create this convoluted plan?' _Kara asked.

'_Yes, he is,' _Chloe thought without another word. She clicked her tongue with impatience as she tried to shift through the computer system to find if there was anything tangible that she could help her. _'I think that I got something….'_

Harry was locked onto the scenario as well, his eyes closed shut as they glowed with the personification of power.

'_No need Chloe, I've got it as well,' _Harry thought to her and the blonde gave a squeak of surprise but she nodded.

'_How did you….'_

'_It's one of those situations where I trust my gut and hope that it doesn't lead me wrong,' _Harry thought to her and Chloe had to say that she was impressed.

'_Well, you do that better than anyone else,' _Chloe remarked.

"I have to say that you're not the one that I expected, although you brought the traitor here….excellent."

Harry's ears perked up as he heard the arrival of Lex Luthor. His mind was on the situation at hand and saw that the man before him was very aged.

He looked like a man who was about ready to collect social security, not a young and charismatic billionaire. His voice was still mostly the same, at least to an extent. There was a certain amount of raspyness in his tone and Harry locked his eyes on those of Lex's.

"You look pretty frail," Harry told Lex.

Lex's tone was rather condescending. "Not all of us can be blessed by super natural gifts beyond the imaginings of men."

Harry thought that it would be just easy to snap his neck right here and there.

Which meant knowing Lex it wouldn't be that easy, there was some kind of catch.

"You could put me out of my misery, but if my heart stops, Metropolis dies and who knows how the fallout will effect the rest of Kansas," Lex remarked as he smiled. "You might not be Clark, but you'll…."

Harry grabbed him around the shoulders and gently pushed him back. He knew that if he exerted enough force, Lex would break like a twig.

"What did you do?" Harry demanded of him.

'_There are several thermal charges throughout Metropolis,' _Indy thought to him.

"It's like a shell game, there are bombs in Metropolis but if you don't deactivate them in the right sequence or hit one of the dummies, the entire city explodes," Lex told him smugly.

There was a question of how Lex set all this up.

"And you better hurry because this body….this body might not hold up much longer, each beat of my heart could be my last but with my dying breath, I will be smiling at your failure, hero," Lex remarked in a taunting voice. "After the Meteor shower, this city can't handle another direct hit."

Harry perked his ear up.

'_There's got to be a pattern,' _Harry thought.

'_Unless Lex screwed us,' _Kara thought as she grabbed his hand to try and calm him down.

'_Or he's bluffing,' _Chloe suggested hopelessly even though she knew that Lex never bluffed by now.

Harry knew what was at stake and instincts, instinct was the key thing to him.

He looked at Lex and focused.

"The clock is ticking," Lex taunted him.

Harry retraced his steps, one at a time and he mentally locked on it.

'_Kara, bomb under the overpass, the bridge leading out of town, Karen bomb under the planet, I'll get the bomb that is outside of the Square, all of the rest are dummies, but if we touch them, it will trigger a remote launch sequence.'_

Kara zoomed to the first bomb. _'Got it.'_

Karen hit the second bomb. _'Got it.'_

Harry hit the third bomb. _'And I've got it.'_

In case he was wrong, they held in their breaths but then seconds later they let them out.

Lex's eyes widened but the next step he took forward was his last as a blonde blur grabbed him around the neck.

Kara could barely see it from her vantage point, it happened too quickly for Tess and Diana.

There was a huge crack as he died and his body crumbled to dust.

* * *

Har-Rell was not an idiot, he knew that there was some kind of hand behind taking down their rogue Lex clone. He knew that all roads lead him to one location and that location was LuthorCorp. The new owner was behind this, he knew what the new owner knew, and that was any version of Lex posed a threat.

Tess and Harry made their way out to the LuthorCorp building.

"You know I'm willing to fight this all of the way, don't you?" Tess asked him and Harry responded with a brisk nod.

"Yes, I know," Harry told her as they made their way up to the entrance of LuthorCorp. "You're saying that he had paperwork that was signed by Lionel Luthor?"

Tess nodded her head. "And it wasn't even a cheap forgery either. I've seen Lionel Luthor's handwriting before and it was perfect, more than perfect even."

Harry could not resist poking fun at the situation at hand. "How can something be more than perfect?"

Tess raised an eyebrow. "Well, don't you look in the mirror everyday?"

Harry smiled at her. "I see."

'_And point goes to Miss Mercer,' _Lois commented in a dry tone.

'_Are you coping with…'_

'_I'm fine, it's weird, but it's fine, I guess it's a good thing that Lana and Alicia don't remember the past timeline,' _Lois remarked to him but then she put in a few more words. _'Unless they learn about it…'_

'_Maybe in due time,' _Harry told her, he had no idea, time was an interesting thing.

'_We'll deal with it when we deal with it,' _Chloe said to him. _'It's this Darkseid thing that I'm really worried about.'_

'_I am too,' _Harry admitted to her and he did not do worried that well but yet there was something about this problem that worked him up.

He would worry about it when the time came but there was something about this mess that caused his heart to pump just a little bit harder, bringing his heart rate to another level. The wizard prepared himself for the next step, whatever that might be.

Now it was time to visit LuthorCorp and their new owner. Kara and Karen joined them, followed by Diana and M'gann.

"It's good to see you back Harry, well kind of, I guess," M'gann stated as she shook her head.

"We'll figure this out one step at a time," Harry said but now he had to focus on this young man. "So what's the name of our mystery new owner?"

Tess neglected to tell him that in the excitement. "Harrison Luthor."

Rage flowed through Karen's eyes but Kara and Harry quickly grabbed her arms to calm her down. Her breathing became labored although she calmed down, despite being perilous seconds away from strangling anyone who got in her way.

"You have a past," Tess stated, although obvious statement was in fact obvious.

Past would not even begin to describe what Harrison and Karen shared….well they technically did not share much of a past. It was him trying to make her join him, promising to free her from the cage that she was in. Naturally when she refused, Lionel performed experiments on her that left unable to bare children.

Then her version of Kal-El was killed before her eyes, all in the name of trying to get her to comply with his sick and sadistic whims. Karen was not about to forget that and all of the things that he did.

"He entered this universe with the Book of RAO, didn't he?" Kara asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that manifested around them all.

"Which means we were the ones that brought him here," Karen remarked in a voice of despair.

"Well, can't we just send him back?" M'gann asked but Harry shook his head.

"A breach in the dimensional fabric like that can only happen once, the stars had to be aligned right," Harry informed her. "And it happened twice, allowing Karen to get through when she did."

Karen had her jaw set but she nodded. She understood that a third breech of the Dimensional fabric would cause everything to come undone. Worlds would collide with each other and be reduced to atoms.

"It's best if you two go, and Tess and I will handle it," Harry told both of his blonde wives and they looked reluctant but they nodded. "Diana can come as my body guard and M'gann as my assistant, but if he's half as bad as…."

"Harry, we understand," Kara remarked, she was worried that Karen would do something bad that would cause them trouble.

"I didn't want to look that motherfucker in the eyes again," Karen said as she turned around with Kara.

M'gann could feel the bitterness radiating off of the blonde and she did not even have to use her powers, at least not that much.

Diana whistled but she broke the silence. "So should we go inside?"

"Yes, let's," Harry remarked his jaw set and his eyes determined.

He had a feeling that he was walking into an entire den of snakes but that was something that he would worry about later. He walked inside, shuffling his feet next to each other, his hand on the side of his head, as he ran it through his hair.

"You're nervous," Tess told him.

"No, just calculating," Harry fired back towards her.

They arrived at the front desk and saw him across from him.

Harrison Luthor stood face to face with him. Harry got a sense of his alternate dimensional counterpart. There were some ways where he was the same and many ways where he was different as well. It was quite a paradox and Har-Rell scanned every inch of him.

His hair was long and not messy. He had green eyes but there was a hint of darkness in them, although for the untrained eye they would give a false sense of security to them. The smile on his face was something that was friendly but Harry saw through the mask immediately. Although he figured that few did.

"I've been expecting you, Mr. Potter or is it Mr. Potter-Kent?" Harrison asked to him with a smile. "I find it hard to keep track of such things."

"It's Mr. Potter," Harry told Harrison as the two of them stared down each other. "Why did you do it?"

"Take LuthorCorp? Well it is my legacy, and she doesn't deserve it," Harrison remarked in a calm tone of voice. "I was groomed to be the handpicked successor of Lionel Luthor."

"You and I both know that it was not this universe's Lionel Luthor," Tess said in a harsh voice but she restrained herself from punching him.

'_So, I always wanted to know what would happen if myself and Lionel had a child,' _Lily thought to them all.

'_Did you?' _Rose asked.

'_No not really but it clarifies that he would be a smug bastard,' _Lily thought to herself. Normally she would be a slight bit more amused than she was but she was kind of bemused.

"You'll find that difficult to prove, it's his signature on the paper after all, it will hold up to all forgery tests," Harrison commented as he leaned back against the wall. "You should know the Luthor game, survival of the fittest."

Harrison stepped around and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "And there can only be one, Lutessa."

"What did you call me?" Tess asked.

"You should really look more carefully in your past, it may shock you," Harrison remarked with a smile. "But naturally the all knowing Herald of Death might have a clue about what you really are?"

Tess let this statement blow over.

"I'm sure you're going to say that I won't get away with this but you'll find that I legally I can," Harrison remarked to him. "I hope you enjoyed the rebuilt Metropolis, it's going to be a shining paradise and a place where the name Luthor holds respect once again."

Harry fixed his eyes on him, not saying anything, he merely stared his double down.

"In the end, you'll understand," Harrison told him as he reached forward and offered his hand. "There's no hard feelings and I'm sure that we'll both be adult enough to do business in the future. What happened wasn't personal, I'm just doing what's best for business."

Harry looked at his hand for a brief second and took it. Although there was a sense that he was just doing that to keep calm.

He always knew that he'd be his own worst enemy.

Harrison smiled, he longed for a challenge, and hoped that this other version of himself would give it to him. Although perhaps not but he could always hope.

Tess was interesting as well, she was far more wild and more independent in this world. His version of Tess was far more devoted, although Harrison had to keep her on a leash.

"It's not over," Harry told him.

"No, it's just beginning, but all legends have to start somewhere," Harrison remarked to him. "Thanks to my generous donations, I have rebuilt and own over half of Metropolis."

Harrison smiled towards him.

"Have a nice day, oh and send Kara my regards and congratulations on your new addition to the family."

* * *

Indy thought about what happened and frustration swam through her eyes. While she did some things that she was not proud of, she had to think that she was not herself.

The original programming on Krypton of the BrainInteractive Construct was supposed to be something that was going to help people, at least that's what the theory was. Like with any other system, it was prone to some failures and also prone to corruption.

"I could be a threat again," Indy said in exasperation.

"You could be a threat, but you'll find that all traces of corruption have been purged from you," Chloe said as she looked at Indy with a smile. "Trust me when I say that I've checked and double checked and found nothing wrong."

"I guess you saved me," Indy remarked as she rolled her eyes back and gave a long sigh.

For the first time ever, she felt human emotions and she'd be lying if they did not feel ultimately amazing. It was something that swam through her body along with her mind all this time.

Guilt was a very human emotion so if anyone said that she was not human, Indy would tell them to kindly piss off.

She felt irritation towards people as well, that was an extremely human feeling to have, she imagined.

"So how are you feeling?"

"Hello, Har-Rell," Indy remarked as she greeted him with a hug and then paused.

Harry decided to be the one to take advantage of the situation and he brought his lips onto hers with a kiss.

The two enjoyed the kiss immediately, the two of them indulging themselves in the lips of each other and Harry backed off for a second.

"And I'm feeling fine," Indy admitted to him as she placed her hand on the top of her head. "More than fine now that you're here….are you here?"

"I'll be in and out, although I'm not completely recharged after what happened," Harry remarked to her.

"You and I both," Indy told him with a winning smile crossing her face as she continued to lock her eyes onto Harry, a hand placed on her hip.

"Yes….well at least I got some much needed downtime."

'_At least until he swooped in,' _Harry thought as he closed his eyes.

He saw the media, they were talking about their new beloved favorite son, the unknown but charismatic son of Lionel Luthor. The fact was that everything that he did was through the letter of the law. That was the most galling part of what he did, nothing was illegal. He did everything to the letter of the flaw, carefully and with swift precision.

"You deserve a vacation, you were almost burned out," Indy told him in a voice that dropped all pretext of hiding what she thought.

"Yes, I think that it was well earned," Harry commented in a calm tone of voice.

"You definitely earned it," Indy remarked to him as she lead him into the office.

Harry took a few seconds to take in her new look, it was less human, although it was quite alluring.

"I can switch between the two looks, use the more human one in public," Indy told him as she turned to him. "Unless you don't approve?"

Harry approved as he saw her body. She had short almost pinkish red hair that framed her face in a delicious manner. Her skin was a light blue as she had delightful violet eyes that stared back at him. He saw the tight black top that wrapped around his body. Her nice breasts were showcased, with a hint of her cleavage, alongside a flat stomach. She was truly a pinnacle of womanhood and Harry watched her with interest and hunger dancing through his eyes. Her long legs were topped off in a tight skirt and she wasn't wearing shoes.

"Oh believe me, I approve," Harry remarked as he lead Indy into the office and she bent over the desk, showing her uncovered ass and pussy to him.

"I think it's time to test to see if my repairs can hold up under the strain," Indy commented as she looked over her shoulder, a lustful smile crossing her face.

Harry grabbed her around the hips and rubbed his length against her entrance. He was ready to see if it could hold up under the strain as well.

**Smut/Lemon Begins. **

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends. **

* * *

Harry was back in the saddle at the Shining Light Foundation, as Tess stood in his doorway.

"Are you enjoying your new office?" Harry asked to her.

"Better than the old one," Tess admitted to him with a nod of her head. "Although I don't plan on staying here for long….I'll find something that he did wrong, and get LuthorCorp back."

"It's pretty ironclad," Harry told her and there was a second where Tess sighed.

"I know."

Tess decided not to address the elephant in the room regarding what else Harrison said. For the moment, she was going to chalk it up to mind games.

'_So, do you drop the bombshell or not?' _Kara asked from her position.

'_Depends on what you mean…."_

'_Her being the bastard daughter of Lionel Luthor naturally,' _Karen remarked without any preamble. _'She's nothing like the other one.'_

'_And what's the other one like?' _Harry asked. _'You know the one in your dimension._

'_A fucking tart,' _Karen told to him. _'She worships Lionel's demonic shadow like you wouldn't believe.'_

'_Not pleasant it sounds like,' _Kara thought as she cringed. _'Karen…'_

'_I'm fine,' _Karen protested in frustration.

"So I'm here."

Harry spun around and saw a tall blonde girl standing in the hallway. She had hair that flowed down past her shoulders although it was currently tied in a ponytail. She wore a green jacket and a white t-shirt that stretched over her C-Cup breasts and showed a toned midriff, that did not look like it had an inch of fat on it. She had tight pants on that showed her ass and shapely legs. She also had a smile that was bright although nervous.

"So you are….Miss…"

"Artemis," the girl said to him.

"Right, Artemis, is that your codename or your real name?" Harry asked her.

The girl shifted and smiled. "Both, actually."

Now Harry was amused. "Wait…you're….you're using your real name as your codename?"

"Well….I couldn't think of anything a pinch, Green Arrow was already taken," Artemis said in a defensive voice. "Not that's the best name in the world but still it's fitting. I wear green, I have the arrow motif, which….it's not like he was a full time hero when I was doing this."

She started at fourteen, now nineteen years old, she had been in the shadows for a long time. Of course, her father had made her fight for her life as part of one of his sadistic tasks. Her sister got sick of it and left, joining the League of Shadows.

"I see….well our resident Arrow is….MIA," Harry remarked to Artemis.

Oliver was lost in the chaos of Metropolis during the meteor shower. There had been nothing of him found yet.

Harry half paid attention to the radio. "Today, Wilson Fisk has made a sizable donation to the Metropolis Orphanage, Fisk Industries has moved its operations into Metropolis, where he plans to help bring the city into a better tomorrow. The business war between Fisk and Harrison Luthor is beginning to heat up…."

"So, am I in the League?"

Harry smiled at Artemis but before he could say something, Chloe burst into the office.

"We've found the person who arrived on the ship, but I think that the government might find her too!"

Harry stepped over and took drastic action but paused.

"Welcome to the Justice League, sorry, business has come up, talk to you later, bye."

Artemis was left in his wake as Harry quickened his steps.

There was one thought that was on his mind, he had to get to her before they did.

**To Be Continued.**

Written on September 20th and 21st 2013, Posted on November 2nd 2013.


	3. Chapter 3: As the Dust Settles

_Read my latest status report update for news. Anything that is brought up in the reviews that I feel is worthy of answering(or won't spoil anything big time), I'll address it in the Director's Notes.  
_

**Chapter Three: As the Dust Settles.**

"Martha mentioned through her contacts that there were some agencies in the government that were looking for our young visitor, so we have to find her and now."

Harry said this as he attempted to retrace the steps of their young friend, although he had a leg up thanks to his powers that other people did not have. His eyes were fixated and focused on what was in front of him, his heart pounding a steady beat within his chest.

"Okay, Harry, calm down, I can hear your heartbeat from over here," Karen stated. She was dressed in a white top, a black jacket, and jeans, Kara standing next to her was wearing a red top, a blue jacket, and jeans. Both tops emphasized the curves that both of them had.

Diana stepped forward as well; she was dressed in a black top that wrapped around her body quite nicely, and a pair of tight jeans, along with boots. She wore a pair of sunglasses and had her hair tied back to complete the incognito look that she was going for. Zatanna followed this up dressed in a white top and tight black pants that also wrapped around her body and Shayera brought up the rear, dressed in a green top and red pants, along with a long coat that concealed her wings.

"So….Checkmate's now under your thumb so who's….who do you have to deal with now?" Shayera asked Harry.

Harry looked thoughtful. "There's always some shadow government organization that is trying to upset the apple cart and make a mess out of things under the guise of helping people."

There was no more than needed to be said other than that one thing.

"So, if I'm reading this right, her last confirmed sighting was North of this village," Zatanna remarked to Harry and he cupped his chin, nodding briefly.

"Which means she must have moved on by now, although the government didn't grab her, at least not yet," Harry commented to the woman who nodded.

All of them thought that they needed to make their next move, before the government did. They saw a helicopter touch down on the ground.

'_And it looks like someone had the same idea,' _Harry thought in a frustrated tone of voice.

'_If the ship is anything like mine, they shouldn't be able to open it up and if they do well…..' _Kara thought to him before she shuddered at the potential thought of what might happen but Harry placed his arm around her waist.

'_Don't worry, Kara, we'll figure it out,' _Harry told her, pulling her into him tightly and the blonde wished that she had the confidence that Harry had in this situation.

'_I'm….not sure what to make about this, but I'll see if I can keep them off your back,' _Chloe offered and Harry smiled.

'_Thanks, appreciate it,' _Harry told her but Chloe waved off his words of praise.

'_Don't worry about Harry, it's what I do,' _Chloe thought as she tried to use the Shining Light Computers to jam whatever equipment the government was using.

'_Well, that should buy us a little bit of time,' _Kara offered with a slight smile.

Harry hoped that it was enough but he closed his eyes. If he could pick up anything, a trace, a trail, anything, he would have this female in his crosshairs. Determination burned through his eyes and he pointed the way forward to his group.

Shayera was uneasy, she'd been in situations like this before and she wanted to smash in the face of her enemy. The woman surveyed her surroundings intently, mace clutched in her hand.

"Stay sharp," Shayera told them and Diana and Zatanna nodded.

Zatanna blasted a pile of rocks out of the way and they flipped over. The magical user turned over her shoulder and there was nothing.

Kara, Karen, and Harry all focused their X-Ray vision. They saw small traces of a substance and a footprint.

'_She's close,' _Harry whispered to his bond mates and they all nodded, nervous at what could happen if they slipped up.

'_Right,' _Kara thought to them as she bit down on her lip and inched forward a tiny bit more, arms folded over her chest.

'_So far, so good,' _Harry thought.

Harry heard a rustling sound from behind them and Kara stood rigid. She was the one who decided to make first contact.

"Um, hello, we're not here to hurt you, really we're not!" Kara called but there was a rustling in the distance.

Kara was a bit nervous although she supposed that this nervousness was shared by the person across from her. Probably even more so then here considering the situation she found herself in.

"You stole my ship!"

Her voice was filled with anger and Karen stepped towards her.

"I didn't steal your ship."

"I don't know…I was sent here and I can't complete my mission!"

The young blonde in the shadows eyes were filled with a blazing fury and her heart hammered within her chest. Her eyes also glowed. She had been having weird spurts of powers that she could not control. She heard rumors that her kind could achieve such powers underneath the yellow sun but that was her first experience with them.

Her hands clenched together nervously and she looked towards them in an attempt to keep them where she could see them.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know who you're talking about," Harry told her. He stepped forward. "My name is Har-Rell…I can help you."

The girl looked maybe a year or two older than Claire, sixteen or seventeen years old. She had long blonde hair much like Kara's, blue eyes much like Kara's. Her bust was not as developed as Kara's but she did have modest size breasts that were wrapped in the blue material of her robes.

"I don't…."

Karen grabbed her around the shoulders.

Bad move, she had the strength of a Kryptonian, the hormones of a teenager, and was on a hair trigger due to her nerves. Turning suddenly she pushed Karen away from her the movement catching her off guard due to how unexpected it was, but Kara was able to catch her by the ankle before she flew off and slam her to the ground.

"Now, you're going to sit down and calm down, or I swear that I'll knock some sense into you!" Kara yelled at the younger blonde, the twenty one year old blonde Kryptonian glaring at the sixteen year old on the ground.

Harry shoved a Portkey in her hand and not a moment too soon, as the government was going to be all up in their ass and looking for her.

* * *

The young blonde was furious to say the least at what happened. The last thing she knew, she disappeared into a bright light in mid air and now she was standing in the middle of a building.

She was underneath red solar lamps.

"Okay, now that we're all calm and not using our powers, we can focus," Harry told her and she crossed her arms with a furious scowl on her face.

"Speak for yourself," the blonde remarked in a furious tone of voice as she watched Harry through glowing eyes. "I want to know where my ship is."

Kara turned towards the younger blonde, wondering if she had this much of a temper when she was this young. She kept her eyes locked onto the younger blonde and placed a hand on the side of her head.

"Just chill out, alright," Kara told the blonde and there was a scowl that formed across the younger blonde's face.

"We want to know where your ship went as well," Harry told the younger blond.

The younger blonde nodded, as she watched his alluring green eyes. It was extremely easy to get lost in them. She tried not to lose herself in them and she kept her head up. Harry watched her, trying to hide the grin that was on his face.

"So, you don't have it?" she asked in a small voice, nearly whimpering as she said it.

"No, we don't, although we'll help you find it, if you allow us to help," Harry commented to her.

The younger blonde nodded.

"You're in another dimension from the Krypton that you were sent to Earth from," Kara told her and the younger model nodded.

"That means…he's not here….Kal-El," the younger blonde remarked in a small voice. "He's all there, alone in the world…."

"He's fine if everything happens in his universe like it did in mine," Kara told her as she grabbed the younger girl's hand and squeezed it reassuringly with a warm smile on her face, in an attempt to comfort her. The younger blonde returned it, tentatively and she leaned towards her, looking into her eyes.

"You look just like me," the blonde remarked before she realized. She might be young and somewhat naïve but she was able to put two and two together. "Because you are me."

The younger blonde whistled as she locked her eyes onto the older blonde and her heart hammered against her chest as she watched her.

This was amazing, she kept watching her older duplicate, she was just as amazing as Harry was, she could see that now. She reminded her a bit of her mother as well, but naturally there would be a few similarities.

"So, you're going to find my ship?" the younger Kara asked to them.

"Yes, we are," Harry told the younger blonde.

She nodded her head that was the only piece of home that she had left. The planet exploded and that was the last thing she remembered as she went through the wormhole, following her cousin's ship. She should have been right behind him. There was a sense that she would be able to take care of him, although she wondered if she was ready to take that level of responsibility. It was a lot to put upon the shoulders of a sixteen year old girl and she did not know….no there was no way.

"You're in a place where they can't grab onto you," Kara told her younger counterpart and a smile crossed her face as she gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

The younger blonde Kryptonian blue eyes were wide. Kara knew what she was feeling, she was in an entirely new world that was a culture shock, a change from the world that she left. It was a terrifying to think about on it's own but on top of that she was in a completely different dimension. She would have to deal with it, for better or for worse.

'_So do you think she'll be okay?' _Kara thought to Harry.

'_Weren't you okay?' _Harry asked to her with a smile.

Kara had to admit that she was okay, although she was okay after she found Harry. She shivered as she thought of a life without her love that was a world that she did not want to live in. Harry could sense her thoughts and pulled her in tight against his body.

'_So now that she's here, that's one less thing that we need to worry about,' _Chloe remarked to them as she walked around, making her rounds.

'_Yeah….but it's the big thing that we have to worry about,' _Harry thought to the blonde and there was a few seconds where he paused.

Time was something that was an amazing thing and he wondered if he had too much.

'_Not to mention LuthorCorp got snatched up from underneath your nose,' _Chloe added and she paused. _'And...that...sounded like I'm trying to rub salt in your wounds. Which I'm not.'_

'_No, Lionel's mini-me did a good enough job of doing that,' _Karen thought dangerously. _'And before you ask, no I'm not going to do something reckless like snapping his neck.'_

Even though she thought about it every day, she was not about to do it. No matter how much she was tempted to wrap her hands around his neck and snap it.

The blonde sighed from her office.

Meanwhile, Harry was thinking about the feelings that were in the air. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but there was a sense that some people on the street were a bit more hostile then they were before. The Planet talked about a spike of criminal activity over the past few weeks, people were desperate for something, anything.

He had no idea what was happening, his eyes flashed with his thoughts.

'_One step at a time, one thing at a time,' _Harry thought.

That was like a mantra that kept him sane, at least for the most part.

* * *

Gwen Stacy was in a whole new world, that much was for sure and she was not completely sure how much she liked about it. Then again, the world that she was sent into was strange and mysterious, with heroes that were larger than life. She had no idea why she got herself into some of the strange and odd situations that she was in. The blonde placed her hand on the top of her head and brushed her hair out of her face, offering a lengthy sigh at the thought of everything.

'_Okay Gwen, get it together, don't be dramatic, just focus, you're here….after being thrown off the bridge, you get sent into an alternate universe, go figure,' _she thought to herself as she placed her hands on the folder that was in front of her.

Everything that she needed to survive in this world, everything that she needed to get a good job in this world. Gwen had credentials in this new world that matched her past experience in the old world. She had no idea how it happened to fall into her hand and the blonde ran her hand over it, working her hands over the edge of the folder.

Everything that she needed was in this folder, the blonde surveyed it through nervous eyes as she ran her hand over the side of it. The blonde keeping her eyes locked onto the folder.

It would be hard to see a forgery or anything. It was almost like she had some kind of guardian angel setting up everything that she needed to know, step by step. The blonde's gaze remained fixed on the folder, nerves racing through her mind as she read it over.

'_Amazing,' _she thought, it was everything that she needed to survive out there. The blonde chewed on the edge of her lip and kept running her hand down the folder.

There was a note paper clipped to the edge of folder. The blonde snatched the note and read it with a tentative expression on her face. It was a simple note, but yet it left more questions than it answered.

Gwen was not sure she liked all of these questions that were flashing through her mind and she was not the type of girl that liked mystery and intrigue. She folded the note in her hand and double checked to ensure everything was in order. Eyes scanned the note as she read the words that were on it.

'_You'll know soon, be patient, good things come to those that wait.'_

Now, Gwen was extremely curious and also extremely suspicious, there had to be a reason that she had been sent to this dimension. It was all new and unsettling to her as she placed her hand on the wall and walked into the lobby.

She managed to get herself an apartment, maybe not the best in the world, but it was nice and cozy, she liked it and liked the comfort that the apartment offered her. She blew her blonde hair from her face as she continued towards her destination. She walked inside of the tower and had the folder in her hands.

LuthorCorp was one of the premier companies in the world, although she took a few weeks to really read up on the company. There were more than it's fair share of changes, as there was a management turnover. Gwen could not say anything about the changes in the company, all she knew was that there was a spot for an internship that opened up and it would be the type of opportunity that the blonde could sink her teeth into.

"Hello, may I help you?"

A young redhead appeared in the office corridor. Her dark red hair was clipped back, enticing green eyes, along with the most alluring lips in the world. She wore a blue suit jacket that stretched around her ample curves and showed her long stocking clad legs.

"Hello, I'm Gwen Stacy, I applied for the Internship, and you said that I should come here and meet Mr. Luthor today," Gwen remarked as she tried not to show any nervousness, even though it was obviously from her eyes.

The redhead smiled towards her as she consulted the clipboard.

"Yes, Gwendolyn Marie Stacy, we have taken a look at your credentials, and they are most amazing," she said warmly.

"Glad….glad you approve," Gwen commented, trying to sound modest.

The redhead watched him. "No….there's no need to sound so modest, you are a child prodigy and you're only going to get smarter. I'm sure Mr. Luthor will enjoy personally ensuring your development….in fact here he comes now."

Harrison made his way down the steps and he was someone who commanded the eyes of everyone who entered the room, especially the females.

"Miss Stacy, it's an honor to meet you in person," Harrison remarked in a charming voice that melted the hearts of most women.

"The pleasure is mine," Gwen commented to him as she took his hand to shake it.

"I want to welcome you to the LuthorCorp family and I know you'll be an impressive addition to this company," Harrison offered her and he could tell that the blonde was surprised at this statement. "Congratulations, you've got the job."

"Seriously?" Gwen thought in a surprised tone of voice and Harrison smiled back at her.

"Yes, I rarely joke about such matters, someone of your credentials, there is hardly any other choice in the matter." Harrison stated to her as he invited Gwen to the elevator. "Now, all we need to do is discuss your future, and we'll be off."

* * *

Harry arrived outside of the Kent Farm for the first time after everything happened. His green eyes flowed with power as he remembered things that were mostly like photographs.

They weren't his emotional attachments; they were Clark's, although the memories in the combined timeline became more real to him as time passed. And if they replaced some of the more horrific memories from his time in that other world, things could only go up from here. That much was agreed about in the back of his mind.

Yet he was Harry Potter-Kent, the combined entity. Kara followed Harry from behind with their daughter Amanda Lara Potter, strapped to her chest. Claire followed, dressed in a black tank top and a black pair of shorts, along with boots, her flaming red hair pulled back with a headband.

"So, Clark's gone, right?" Claire asked to them.

"Wait….wait….how do you….you remember?" Kara asked to her.

Claire shrugged. "Yeah, remember a lot of it really but it's confusing. It's like a whole bunch of new memories got shoved into my head. Although I was never experimented on in this new set of memories, which I like better."

Harry smiled at his oldest daughter. "I do too."

"Clark needed a long time out anyway," Claire offered to him with a smile. "Although….it's weird….isn't it?"

"Yes, it's weird," Harry agreed with her as he made his way to the front door.

There was a part of Lana who thought that she never really experienced anything like this and made her question the memories she had but another part of them told her to shut up. Harry pushed her against the wall and Lana continued to enjoy the kiss.

Lana opened the door with a smile.

"Harry, it's good to see you!" Lana cried as she threw her arms around him.

Harry pulled himself into the hug and then bent forward and kissed her on the lips. Lana closed her eyes and continued the kiss. The dark haired woman breathed as his mouth worked over hers and his hands worked down her body.

There was a part of Lana who thought that she never really experienced anything like this and made her question the memories she had but another part of them told her to shut up. Harry pushed her against the wall and Lana enjoyed the kiss.

"Nothing for me?" Alicia pouted at Harry and he couldn't help but smile, grabbing her into a hug as he broke apart from Lana.

He greeted Alicia with an extremely messy kiss, their tongues dancing together, trying to dominate the other. Harry could sense that Clark had to practically have his arm twisted to do anything interesting, due to his sexual repression. Part of that had to do with Jor-El, who had to be dragged kicking and screaming out of his lab.

Alicia moaned in his mouth as his hands worked over her.

"Oh, that must be Amanda," Lana remarked as she looked at the child, who was sleeping. "She's cute."

Then again, all babies were cute when they were sleeping because they stayed out of trouble, at least that was the fact of the matter.

Lois was at the Planet but Harry would be stopping by there next. He had to focus on something else as Raya stood in the doorway, her arms folded as she watched Harry.

"Har-Rell, I wish to speak with you," Raya told him.

Harry was on his guard as he scanned her. All traces of Jor-El's subconscious programming had been removed to her.

She led Harry into the bedroom.

"I….I wish to apologize for the domino effect that I caused, I got you and Clark killed and then merged to each other," Raya told to him. "I can only imagine what it's like having Kal-El's voice in your head."

Harry heard plenty of voices in his head, although they were mostly of the female variety.

"You can do what you wish to me, I'm in your debt, and yours," Raya told him with a smile crossing her face and there was a slightly hungry look in her eyes to this, that Harry liked.

Harry smiled towards her.

"Well, I can think of a few things that I'd like to do to you," Harry informed her and he grabbed Raya around the waist, backing her off a few steps towards the bed.

Raya's eyes widened and Harry pushed her back. His lips found hers with a long kiss and his arm tightened around him.

He was pulling down the white material of her outfit and she knew that he might take out his frustrations on her body.

Given what she saw underneath, she approved of this.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends. **

* * *

"There are menaces that are hiding amongst the shadows, stealing oxygen from good people like you and I. People who could be something, if they used their powers for good but they only use their powers for themselves, for their own self gratification. And what's worst, these people aren't human."

Harry watched this press conference back at the Shining Light Foundation.

"You shouldn't watch that, it'll rot your brain."

Harry turned around and saw Chloe walking up to him.

"Believe me, what the government's going to try this time, they're rotting my brain just thinking that this is going to stop the real threats," Harry told Chloe and the young blonde edged towards him, sitting on the edge of the sofa next to him, handing him a coffee.

Harry did not know if coffee was going to be what the doctor ordered for him, at least not this time. With his powers, he could end up even further on edge rather then help him relax.

"We're coping with….well we're coping with everything that happened," Chloe remarked to him.

Harry nodded, he actually felt saner than he had been since….well actually he could not remember a time where he was this sane. It had been a really long time since his mind had been this clear. His green eyes flickered.

"There is a call to register these people like you would register weapons."

"Oh, that can't end well," Chloe groaned.

Harry smiled, he'd figured that it would not well. The thing about politicians these days was finding the price tag that would get them to back off from their stupid little games. As a wise man once said, everyone has a price.

"It won't, right now it's a lot of hot air," Harry told her and Chloe placed her hand on her chin before she asked one thing of Harry.

"How much smoke do you think there is to this fire?"

Harry took a moment to drink his coffee, which was more of an excuse to not answer the question, at least not straight off. He took the coffee and sipped it down. His eyes focused on the screen and he turned around, peering over his shoulder at Chloe.

"It depends on who you believe," Harry informed the young blonde and she blinked as she motioned for him to continue. "Martha's looking into some things and there's a lot of smoke to certain fires. The government was not too happy about the Kandorian mess."

"Which was a gambit on your part that kind of backfired," Chloe said and Harry raised an eyebrow and she gave him a smile. "And don't deny it, you were playing with some pretty heavy artillery."

Harry conceded this thought and placed his hand on his head as he watched Chloe. "Well….I am and I still am playing with fire. I'm trying to stir everything the best that I can."

"And are you going to get burned?" Chloe asked.

Kara showed up at this point as she had just put Amanda to bed. It was a good thing that she had super powers, because she could not imagine raising a young child. Especially one as hyperactive as she was, without them.

"Our big problem is….well the new leader of Luthorcorp and also the darkness," Harry told her in a hushed voice.

Harry was not going to mince words, he had looked on both sides of the light and the darkness more often than he cared to recall. He had stared both sides in the eyes, without blinking and he had lived to tell the tale. His eyes were focused forward and ready.

"What have you found out about Darkseid?" Chloe asked the two Heralds.

"Well we told you that he's someone who might as well be responsible for some of the most grievous horrors throughout history."

"He makes my father look like a girl scout."

Harry, Kara, and Chloe turned and saw Rachel standing there. The dark haired half demon smiled as she reached Harry. She greeted him, wrapping her arms around him and leaning up. She captured his lips in a nice kiss, as Harry leaned back towards her.

"It's good to see you again, Harry," Rachel told him.

"So wait….even the big bad Darkseid puts your father to shame?" Chloe asked her.

Rachel nodded, the thought might have horrified many people but it was true, Darkseid was someone that brought fear into the heart of even the great Trigon.

"Yes, Darkseid wishes to enslave humanity, destroying their will, destroying all hope, while my father would just settle for the full scale annihilation of them all," Rachel told them as the young half demon sighed.

Harry could sense that was a potentially problematic subject that was being brought up so he grabbed Rachel around the head and tilted her head up and looked into her eyes, with a warm smile which she returned.

"Darkseid….even my father will tremble before him," Rachel remarked to him. "Not that he'd admit it."

Harry recalled his past encounter with Trigon, he figured that much. The great Trigon was someone who showed absolutely no fear and rolled over enemies like they were nothing. And to him, these enemies were completely nothing. They were nothing but insects.

Darkseid might be more dangerous than anything that Harry faced.

'_He's here,' _Harry mentally whispered to his fellow Heralds.

'_We can all sense him, it's almost like he's everywhere but nowhere at the same time,' _Alex thought as she cringed at the thought of Darkseid.

There was no question about it, they were up against an impressive battle. Harry's attention turned back to this latest bit of stupidity.

He was going to use his resources to put a stop to it, although they did take a hit thanks to LuthorCorp being plucked out from under him and Tess.

"As a father of three children, I'm appalled that these heroes are allowed to run amuck, especially considering that many of them aren't humans, and they are allowed a mask to hide their identities, what are they hiding from?" a man standing at the top of the stage with silver blonde hair, wearing an eye patch. Sitting next to him was a girl of about nineteen or twenty years of age. She platinum blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She wore a conservative top and a long skirt that reached the ground.

"Slade Wilson, the new director of the Vigilante Registration Committee, and his daughter, Rose," Harry informed them.

"I wonder if the apple falls from the tree, she looks like a Daddy's girl," Rachel commented to them.

"I don't know," Harry offered, he was going to adopt a wait and see approach.

He was sure that this act was going to cause more headaches. Although there was a darker agenda that was at work here, something that had tinges of Darkseid all over it.

Wait and see, that was the approach that Harry was going to adopt with this one. Although he was making plans in case things got ugly. It wouldn't be the first time he butted heads with a government.

* * *

"You're going to fight them on this aren't you?" Iris asked Harry as they walked down the hallways of the Daily Planet side by side.

Harry smiled at the woman and said the one thing that was clear, at least to him. "The reputation of the entire Justice League is on the line, so I feel that there's no choice, I have to fight them on this, fight them to the end."

Contrary to popular belief, Harry was not fighting for himself, if he was, he might not have pushed this so hard. He could hide himself no matter how many laws were passed. That was just the fact but the fellow members of the Justice League, they might be competent but they were not bulletproof like Harry was.

Although he had to remind himself that despite the fact he was bulletproof other things could hurt him. He could suffer his own set of setbacks just like anyone else out there. He nearly died and this entire merger thing happened to salvage two people.

How much of him was Harry Potter and how much of him was still Clark Kent, well that was the riddle of the ages to say the very least. He was not going to think about it. He remembered three separate sets of lives. His life, Clark's life, and the life where they merged, and it was hard to really keep everything completely straight, no matter how hard he tried.

Yet he had to try, because if he didn't….well who else would?

"You're pulling your hair out because of what happened just like the rest of us, aren't you?" Lois asked to him. "So how do you like the rebuilt Planet?"

Lois eyed him as she mouthed.

"Compliments of Harrison Luthor," Lois told him and Harry opened his mouth. "Yeah, I know, you're on the island, you had to recharge, and he's an opportunist. He's the type of guy who will jump in after someone else has done all of the dirty work."

Harry could worry about Harrison later, his primary focus was twofold. The first thing that was on his plate was the VRA and then there was the coming of Darkseid.

"I've been trying to dig up some dirt on Director Wilson because someone like that, he's had a dirty past, he has to," Lois told Harry as she walked next to him.

"Well, how big of a shovel did you use, Lois?" Harry asked her and Lois consulted her notes before she informed him what she knew.

"Well….he's lead several military operations although the details are sealed and classified," Lois remarked to him. "Which means he's the guy who does the dirty work that the politicians didn't want anyone to know about."

Harry smiled, he figured that was the case, but he knew that Lois had something.

"There are unfounded rumors that he's…..well he's done some completely dodgy things in the past," Lois informed him.

Harry raised an eyebrow before he slowly stated one thing. "Define, dodgy."

"Well…." Lois offered him in a tentative tone of voice before she shook her head and cleared her mind. "Dodgy, as in he made a lot of people who criticized the government disappear. I'm not sure if someone made the order or if he pledges allegiance to the flag in his own extreme way."

Harry knew that if he wanted to go against Slade, he would have to have both guns loaded.

"I'm going to speak out against the VRA tomorrow, the people need to know that this is one step away from taking away even more freedoms," Harry remarked to her.

"This thing….well it has some fans," Lois remarked as she walked over to the radio.

Lois turned the dial on the radio and had it on.

"So these heroes are corrupting the values of today's youth, making them think that all it takes is being able to throw on a costume and do some grandstanding," said a voice over the radio. "I encourage all good Americans to write to their congressman and encourage them to take the necessary steps to have this act enforced. Otherwise, we are leading to a slippery slope that leads to an epidemic of murder, drug use, and sexual disease from those would be vigilantes."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Extreme, much?"

Chloe turned up behind him and sighed. "That's G. Gordon Godfrey, of course it's an extreme."

"I wouldn't expect people to believe this trash radio but I know better," Harry sighed as he knew that Godfrey was going to be a bother.

"I could go head to head with him, demolish his arguments," Lois offered but Harry paused.

"I have no doubt that you'll hold your own in a verbal duel with him, Lois, but….there's just something off about him," Harry remarked to them but Chloe offered a smile.

"There's something….there's a lot of somethings off about Godfrey," Chloe offered Harry who nodded.

"Yes, yes, there is….I didn't forget about you Iris, get started on that piece on about the VRA, I figure that if it's you doing it, you're fast enough to dodge anything that gets thrown your way," Harry remarked as he turned to the redhead who nodded.

Lois paused for a second before he informed Harry. "My father….well he's all for this, he's not a fan of the caped crowd."

"Does your father know that this is not really about the caped crowd, just an excuse to police the people more and for certain people of the government to restrict the freedoms of people?" Harry asked her. "And it's being stirred along by someone who has an agenda."

"Yeah, told him, yelled at him, reasoned with him, you know how stubborn the General is," Lois told him and Harry pulled her into a one armed hug.

"Don't worry, I'll do what I can to open the eyes of the people, even if I have to use a crowbar," Harry told her.

Lois nodded, as their lips met with a quick kiss. Harry paused and told them.

"Got to get back to the Shining Light Foundation," Harry told Chloe, Iris, and Lois, all three woman nodding. "Let me know if something breaks."

Harry made his way off into the other direction as fast as he could.

**To Be Continued.**

Written on September 22nd and 23rd 2013, Posted on November 5th 2013.


	4. Chapter 4: Arrival

**Chapter Four: Arrival.**

"You know, I missed you back at the Farm."

That was the statement given by one Harry Potter as he led Lois Lane into the brand new office, that she'd gotten thanks to her promotion at the Daily Planet.

"Oh….yeah, I intended to meet you there, but work tends to get in the way," Lois remarked to him.

Harry decided to get the issue between them out in the open now whilst he could, staring Lois down. "So….you're the one who is the most involved with this….as in you have the most memories about what happened in the old time stream."

Lois nodded with a smile. "Yeah….I remember everything….every detail…..not that there was nothing notable to remember but I don't think that I need to tell you that."

Harry knew that Lois did not need to say any more for she had said a lot already. He took a second to look over her body, not that he didn't have a chance to look it over before. She had dark hair that went down past her shoulders. Deep violet eyes that a men could get lost in, equally as enchanting as his emerald green ones. Her rosy red lips that offset her extremely sexy looking face. Harry watched her face with hunger and then his eyes traveled down the rest of body.

"Yes, I know better than anything else, I do have all of the memories from both of them," Harry remarked to her.

As his eyes traveled down her body, he saw that she wore an extremely tight red blouse with a couple of the buttons unbuttoned to show off the cleavage of her extremely firm DD cup breasts. Her shirt rode up a little bit as she shifted her body, showing that she was extremely fit with a toned midsection. Her skirt also showed her shapely ass and nice hips, along with her stocking clad legs. Her legs were gorgeous, they might as well stretched for miles. She was dangling her high heel shoe off of her smoking hot foot as well, tapping her finger on the desk in tune with it.

"I feel like I should be apologizing for what you've been put through with those memories in some way," Lois commented in a small tone of voice but Harry reached forward from the chair that he sat on to place a hand on her bare thigh and that caused her to shiver a bit.

"Well, it's been a bit of a learning experience, and I think that I've gotten a bit better of a perspective of where everyone was coming from," Harry told her and Lois smiled. "I have the memories of both, so I know now where they were coming from and have been able to learn from their mistakes."

Harry knew that it was going to be a little bit before his mind was completely healed although hopefully he was going to get back to the races, even though Harrison had a bit of a head start.

"It sounds like….Har-Rell is different from both Harry Potter and Clark Kent, Kal-El, whatever," Lois told him and Harry smiled towards her.

"Yes and no….actually it's kind of complicated," Harry told her with a raised eyebrow and Lois placed a hand on her cheek, looking extremely thoughtful.

"What about our lives isn't?"

'_Not much,' _Chloe chimed in through the bond link.

'_Yeah, that's for sure, but who wants a simple life, that's not interesting,' _Karen commented to them.

Lois smiled, she was getting used to be more involved in the banter. Because of her commanding personality, she kind of took the role as the Alpha in Clark's group but given that the other four had their own issues and Lois was the most level headed of the five, as well as having the strongest will it was obvious that she would be. That thought scared her.

"So, I guess that I should make up from missing you at the farm," Lois told him with a smile as she placed her foot on his lap, watching him with a smile. "And….I'll be honest if I didn't look forward to looking to experience this first hand as opposed to in fragmented memories."

"Well, I'm sure that you're going to want a piece of this," Harry commented to her as he placed his hands on her hips and pulled himself to his feet, running his hands down her legs as he stood to his full height.

"Think pretty highly of yourself, don't you?" Lois asked shivering, as she felt his hands working down her smooth legs.

Harry watched her reaction, feeling her whimper underneath his touch and he stopped short of paradise, running his hands up and down her amazing legs. He saw Lois subconsciously lean forward, both to show him a hint of her cleavage and also to go for a kiss.

He watched her tasty looking lips and he captured them in a kiss.

Lois felt her mind go wild from this kiss, as he placed one hand on the small of her back. She slid off the desk, her legs wrapping around him and her tongue dancing with his. Their tongues clashed for domination as Harry pulled her body into his.

She shifted, reversing their positioning as pushed him back onto the desk, straddling him and kissing the side of his neck.

"Oh, we're going to have some fun," Harry groaned as Lois sucked on his neck and worked the buttons of his shirt open, exposing more of his muscular chest to her.

The dark haired woman ran her hands down his chest, feeling all that he had to offer, smiling as she took in every inch of his frame. She felt his muscles and they caused her to smile. The dark haired woman kept working her hands down, tracing her hands down his chest and abs.

Lois smiled as she kissed his abs, and worked his belt off.

"Time for the main event," Lois breathed as she undid his belt and pulled his pants down.

"I think that we need to tip the scales," Harry commented and Lois smiled as she straddled him, slowly unbuttoning her blouse.

Harry saw a blue bra that just barely contained her amazing breasts and her fit body was exposed to him. He placed his hand on her belly then ran it downwards, skimming past her belly button.

She shimmied her skirt off her body to reveal her a matching pair of panties for him. Harry grabbed her around the hips and ran his hands down her body, causing her to close her eyes and Harry worked his hands all around her body.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends. **

* * *

"I'm so glad that you walked me through this, Megan!" Cassie gushed in an excited voice as the redhead Martian walked her through the Shining Light Foundation.

"It isn't that hard, you're smart, you'll get the hang of it," M'gann told her with a smile, as she looked at the blonde demigoddess and the dark haired teenage Amazon alongside the young blonde Archer following them.

The group of younger heroes made their way forward.

"Well, I think that the stake of the Shining Light Foundation is going to raise," Donna remarked as she smiled. "Given that with the meteor shower…."

"Yeah, the last two times it happened, it just goes without saying that some more meteor infected could be running around," Chloe told them and the group nodded, frowns crossing their face.

Harry stepped inside to meet with them.

"Are you girls settling the new guests in?" Harry asked to him.

Donna nodded with an answer. "Yes, Harry, we're making sure that they understand their powers."

It was a fact that the media constantly hammered upon them. The Justice League could not save everyone and there were some people in the media who were raking them over the coals constantly for it. Godfrey was the loudest and the most obnoxious out of them all, so he was really raking them over the coals.

Harry wished that the media would just cool down with the ripping on people. They were a rather angry group to say the very least and they tended to thrive on controversy. Harry supposed that the adage that controversy created cash was appropriate.

"Did you run over Godfrey's cat or something?" Artemis asked him and noticing Harry's raised eyebrow so she decided to elaborate on what she meant. "I mean, he's really raking you over the coals with everything, trying to take you out, ruin your reputation and all that."

"I don't think that….well he's really someone who thrives on stirring up trouble," Harry commented to her.

He was digging up information to put a muzzle on Godfrey, this entire VRA thing stunk to all high heaven that there was a higher agenda than the politicians in Washington at play.

Donna decided to chime in with a few words of her own. "Is that a politically correct way of saying that he's a real dick?"

Diana outraged voice echoed through the bond link. _'Donna!'_

'_Well it's the truth,' _Donna commented with a shrug of her shoulders as she focused her eyes forward with a smile.

'_Yeah, Diana, it kind of is,' _Cassie told them.

'_What am I going to do with you two girls?' _Diana asked exasperation dripping through from her voice.

Lois, now that she was a regular on the conference call, could not resist chiming in through the link. '_Yeah, I think that you should give them a spanking.'_

'_I'd like to see that,' _Harry commented to them.

'_Oh, I know you would,' _Lois remarked through the bond link with a smile.

'_It would be something to watch,' _Zatanna chimed in.

Harry turned around as Cassie smiled toward him.

"I'm glad that we're doing something, anything to help the world," Cassie told him with a bright smile crossing her face as she sat down in a chair. "Even if the work is tiring."

Kara turned up to join the rest of the group.

"Some time's the most tiring work is the most fulfilling," Kara told them and there was a nod from all of them.

"I'll second that," M'Gann commented with a grin across her face.

"Yeah, yeah, for sure," Artemis remarked, she might be new to this group and the things that they do, but she was slowly getting into the swing of things.

"So, you're fine?" Harry asked them all and the group nodded.

Harry was glad that they were all settling in, he enjoyed about inquiring about the health of all of his girls, each and every one of them.

On the other hand he wished that everything else was above the water. His smile became fairly fixed as he saw another article talking about the golden son of Metropolis, the one known as Harrison Luthor. Harry thought that at first glance, one might consider them to look pretty much the same but there were certain differences that indicated that the two of them were far from it.

He held a rolled up newspaper in his hand.

'_You read about his latest project to rebuild the city,' _Karen offered in a savage tone.

'_Yes….and he's doing some of this out of some type of twisted desire to do good in the world,' _Lily thought to them._ 'Though it's also a means to an end.'_

'_You've got him pegged, don't you?' _Lara offered to him.

'_Alternate or not, I can read my own son like a picture book,' _Lily informed them, almost feeling insulted that they thought differently from her.

'_Okay, your point is well taken,' _Harry thought to her.

'_The problem is….he hasn't technically done anything wrong yet,' _Kara thought in a frustrated voice.

'_Yeah….technically,' _Tess remarked harshly through the link, although she was still a bit stung at the company being pulled out from underneath her thumb. She was not going to forgive that, not any time soon.

'_We'll figure out something, there's got to be a hole in his defenses but he's more prepared than I am,' _Harry said.

'_Oh boy, that's bad. That's actually really scary.' _Chloe offered in a worried voice. She knew how prepared Harry could be, to the point of near insanity. If Harrison was worse, well that terrified the crap out of her.

'_Yes, that's very bad,' _Harry agreed with her as he thought about that. There was going to be a situation that he was going to have to deal with sooner rather than later. He placed his hand onto the top of his head and ran his hand back through his hair, sending it all into disarray.

* * *

Sixteen year old Kara Zor-El placed her hands on the top of her head as she threw her head back and a sigh went through her body.

Everything had changed for her, not only had she lost her world but she was in a completely different dimension. She was in this new world, with powers that she could only scarcely understand. She had a watch on that filtered the yellow solar radiation to a manageable level.

She sighed as she recalled that there were two other versions of herself here, both much older. They were bold and confident heroes, something that she aspired to live up to.

"So, how are you holding up?"

The blonde turned around and saw the green eyed wizard making his way into the room. Younger Kara breathed in and out as she saw his awe inspiring body.

"Fine, I'm really fine," Kara managed to him as she nodded her head. "So…..I'm sorry….if I'm not getting the powers."

Harry reached forward with a gentle expression on his face and he grabbed her by the shoulder.

"No, Kara, don't be sorry, you're doing as well as anyone could expect," Harry told the younger blonde. She shook her head and the smile kept crossing her face.

"I'm glad you think I'm doing well, that means a lot to me," the younger Kara told him.

"Well, yes, it does mean a lot," Harry told the blonde as he adjusted her stance and she nodded, trying to stand tall and brave.

She was trying not to lose herself in his eyes, even though it was hard not to. The blonde kept her head completely rigid.

"I've got everything that you need here," Harry told the young blonde. "Your papers, an identity that you can forge here in this world, the promise of a fresh start."

The younger blonde took the paper. She'd learned how to speak, read and write in English before she was sent here.

"Very nice, Laura Potter, the adopted daughter of Harry and Kara," she commented as she read the paper.

"It's….just a front," Harry told the younger blond.

"Yeah, I understand," she stated as she felt her eyes itch before they started to heat up.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked her and she shook her head, trying to keep herself calm.

"It's just…my eyes….they're burning, and I thought….well it's nothing, I'll be fine," the younger girl said in a distracted voice as Harry grabbed her around the hand.

The young girl rocked back, his hand on hers, the contact between the two of them not helping at all when it came to try and get a hold on her emotions, the deep and subliminal desires that she was facing. Her heart beating quickly within her chest, drumming a steady beat against it.

"It's your heat vision developing," Harry told her.

The younger blonde gulped as she tried to keep herself calm and her thoughts in line. "How….how…how do you know?"

Harry smiled at her. "It's due to your subliminal desires; your heat vision kicks in first, because it's based off of emotions."

'_In other words, it's kicking in because she's thinking dirty thoughts about you,' _Lois thought to Harry through the bond link.

'_Yeah, pretty much,' _Karen agreed.

Harry kept himself calm.

"Just close your eyes and take a deep breath," Harry told her as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

The blonde felt her body squirm underneath his grip. He bent down towards her and whispered in her ear, his hot breath brushing against it as he spoke.

"Just relax."

The younger blonde, now known as Laura, relaxed. She leaned back towards him as she did so.

"You're the master of your thoughts, no one else," Harry told the blonde and she bit down on her lip until she left an indent upon it.

"Right, got it," she told him.

"Just relax, keep yourself calm, and master yourself, master your emotions," Harry told her and the blonde's body twitched.

He conjured a pumpkin that appeared before her.

"A pumpkin?" she asked him in a curious tone of voice and the older brunette nodded, as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Just try and carve your initials in the pumpkin," Harry advised her and the young blonde nodded her head, biting down on her lip as she focused.

She had to focus, her eyes were locked onto the pumpkin, ready to send heat vision towards it.

The pumpkin exploded from the fury of her heat vision and caused pumpkin guts to go flying in every single direction. The blonde's facial expression showed her frustration.

"That's okay, Laura, I didn't expect you to get that the first time," Harry told her and the sixteen year old blonde gave him a sour expression.

"Thanks for showing a lot of faith in me," she remarked in a sullen tone of voice.

"Just relax, and use your heat vision, it will work out, trust me."

She wondered if she should trust this but he had a sense of supreme self confidence about this that reassured her, the blonde was keeping herself standing steady, focused, and determined.

The young blonde was ready.

'_Ready, aim, fire,' _she thought to herself as she squinted her eyes at the reformed pumpkin.

Heat vision fired out of her eyes, cutting it's way through the pumpkin. Each push of the heat vision rocked it, cutting its way through the pumpkin. A K was cut into the pumpkin. It was awkward and messy but she did not blow the pumpkin into pieces.

She stayed the course, using her heat vision to cut a "Z" into the edge of the pumpkin. The blonde bit down on her lip and continued with the "-" and the "E"

Harry wrapped his arms around her even more tightly which caused her body to melt into his arms.

"Good, want to go again?" Harry asked her with a smile.

Laura smiled a bright smile. "Yeah, let's do it, I'll do better this time."

Harry smiled, her bright eyed expression of joy was amazing to behold.

"One more time," Harry told her and the young blonde nodded in an excited manner as she rubbed her hands together.

He was not about to tell her no, especially with a look like that on her face. It was completely infectious.

* * *

"The fact of the matter is, I know that you can handle a chump like Godfrey," Lois told him with a bright smile.

"Yeah, he's nothing compared to you," Chloe offered him and Kara decided to take her own statement.

"Good luck, you're the public face of superheroes, and the beacon of hope that they have to rally behind," Kara told him but a smile briefly went over her face. "Still, don't want to make you think I'm putting you under any pressure or anything."

"Of course," Harry told her with a teasing grin that did not leave his face.

He pulled his Alpha into a one armed hug. Despite the merger, it was Kara who had the strongest connection to him; she was someone who showed him a lot of joy and love during a time in his life where it was desperately needed.

That did give Harry the strength that he needed to go toe to toe with Godfrey. The man was someone who Harry heard talk a really good game over the past few weeks. Yet there were a few key flaws in his points and Harry was armed with notes, along with plenty of back up. He wondered how many of the sheep that he could convince of the bullshit that Godfrey was spewing between his lips but if he could convince a few, then that was a victory that could not be denied.

He made his way inside the studio where Godfrey was waiting. He was a middle aged man, unassuming, if one did not know the background, one could tell where he was coming from the venom spilling off her tongue. Harry prepared himself for battle, edging into this verbal arena.

"Mr. Potter, just sit down for a second, and Mr. Godfrey will be with you in a moment," his assistant stated, a weedy man that dripped a certain amount of sleaze from his voice.

Harry nodded, he was not one who was going to get psyched out that easily but he would be doing plenty of the psyching out once push came to shove.

'_He's making you wait,' _Karen suggested to him.

Harry nodded in agreement. _'Merely his way of trying to manipulate the game but the game will be mine….he'll see it. I'm not about to lose to someone like him.'_

'_Go ahead and do it,' _Kara suggested as she waited anxiously for what the next play was.

Harry stood outside the door, waiting to be let into the world of Godfrey. He braced himself, Godfrey was not going to hold back and neither was he. He saw the door open and he was ready.

"Mr. Potter, just make yourself at home," Godfrey remarked in a cheerful voice as he lead Harry Potter inside.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Godfrey," Harry remarked with a smile although it was forced.

'_And by that we mean, not really,' _Alex thought to Harry. _'Be on your guard.'_

Harry was about to remark that he was always on his guard, at least until he saw what was going on around him. There was a sense of darkness flowing around in the air, something that caused goose bumps to rise on his arms. He tried to get a fix of the sinister Aura that manifested in this room.

"Sit down, sit down, we'll be on in two minutes….commercials you see, a radio show doesn't pay for itself," Godfrey remarked in a polite tone of voice.

Harry sat down.

"I must say I'm very popular with young billionaires in this city," Godfrey stated to him.

"Oh?" Harry asked.

Godfrey was only too happy to enlighten Harry on what he was talking about. "Well there's you….and then there's Harrison Luthor."

Harry raised an eyebrow….well wasn't this some interesting news?

"Yes…young Harrison Luthor has consented to stop by to talk about how LuthorCorp has improved under his management and I must say….quite a stirring example of corporate takeover with how he took the company out from underneath you and Miss Mercer," Godfrey commented to him.

Harry just took this matter in stride; there was not that much for him to do.

"And we're back on in five, four, three, two, one," Godfrey's producer stated.

Harry prepared himself for battle, consulting the notes that he studied before this show.

"And in the interest of fair time, we have the opposite viewpoint, one that favors the heroes of the world, that being Harry Potter-Kent, the founder and owner of the Shining Light Foundation, who claims to help those with special abilities," Godfrey remarked to him in a polite voice. "Mr. Potter, it's a pleasure having you on this show."

"The pleasure is all mine," Harry told him with a smile across his face.

The emerald eyed Herald of Death prepared himself to be bombarded.

"Now, Mr. Potter, you've been critical of the recently proposed Vigilante Registration Act," Godfrey remarked to him. "Do you think that putting on a costume gives everyone the right to do their activities amongst an anonymous veil?"

Harry paused. "Heroes should be treated like the rest of people, they are going to make mistakes like the rest but this is not about the heroes, ."

"I beg your pardon," Godfrey commented to him, as if he was taken aback.

"The United States Government is trying to make it look like they're doing something after they were handcuffed during recent events, therefore it is just a way to flex their muscles, make it look like they can handle an incoming threat," Harry remarked to them. "Some of the heroes will agree with this but others will not."

"Then these heroes should be commended…."

"If it was about them," Harry interrupted, as he prepared to go in for the kill. "But it isn't about these heroes, it's about the government. They couldn't protect us, so they're trying to handcuff those who can. And there might be more sinister forces at work."

"I think you might be seeing a conspiracy that's not there," Godfrey told him. "This Justice League, they failed to save the day and their actions endangered people."

"So should the United States Army be banned because they failed to win key battles?" Harry asked him and Godfrey blinked. "There are good people with powers and bad people with powers. And while some burn, the government goes on a witch hunt. It is just like the incident of the past in Salem, where the good people in the world get burned. And if we don't draw the line somewhere, how much leeway are we going to allow the government to have?"

"I think you're…."

"Confusing the issue is not something that I'm doing, Mr. Godfrey," Harry told him as he saw that Godfrey's eye twitched. He was not used to fighting a guest that was able to match him mouth to mouth.

"Well let's talk about you, and your Shining Light Foundation," Godfrey remarked.

"Yes, all of the people that I helped, that could be on the street, committing crimes or being used as tools by unsavory figures, let's talk about that," Harry retorted to him. "I'm sure you can talk about the dozens of children that I took in, helped them perfect their powers….."

"And are you training them for some reason, trying to train the next generation of vigilantes?" Godfrey asked him, thinking that he found his opening.

"None of them have went out onto the field nor will they until they're the age of eighteen," Harry informed him.

"So you're not going to pull a trick where you dress a twelve year old up in a multi-colored costume as a moving target for acid burned psychopaths," Godfrey stated to him in a fairly taunting voice.

'_Thanks Bruce, put me on the spot,' _Harry thought to himself but he remained calm and collected.

"Not me, but once they turn eighteen, it's their choice although I hope it's a good choice but we both know what the government really wants," Harry remarked to them. "Let's talk about Project Power Plant though."

"I beg your pardon," Godfrey remarked to him but Harry saw that he was sweating.

"Well it's a government project that's…."

"Thank you Mr. Potter for your time, but we need to head to a commercial," Godfrey remarked to him.

The radio feed went dead and Godfrey turned to him.

"Well, thank you for being here but you need to go as I have other guests," Godfrey said coldly.

Harry smiled in triumph. Now people were going to be curious and start digging.

'_Gotten to.'_

* * *

"It's a good thing that you're getting people thinking now," Chloe offered to Harry as the two of them took the long walk back from the Planet to the Shining Light Foundation.

The two of them would have normally teleported but given the nice day, they wanted to take every advantage that they could to enjoy it. There they were able to walk outdoors.

"I took a lot of the bullets out of Godfrey's gun but I figure that I'm going to be his new favorite target," Harry told her.

Godfrey struck him as one of those people who would mock people behind their backs and be nice to them to their face. He was one of those people who was a slimy, two timing snake.

'_You did show him though,' _Shayera remarked to him.

'_It won't be the last we hear of him, sadly,' _M'gann thought to him.

'_Harrison's appearance should be interesting,' _Kara added in the bond link.

'_Is it bad that I'm torn who to root for?' _Karen asked, because quite frankly she hated both of them.

'_Well, that depends on your perspective,' _Harry told the blonde.

It was true, there was an interesting perspective. The young wizard made his way down the hallways to the Shining Light Foundation.

"Hey, Dad," Claire offered as she joined him and pulled him into a hug.

"Hey, Claire, how are you doing?" Harry asked him.

"Well, I'm doing good, I really miss the Island, we should go back," Claire told him with a hint in her eyes.

Harry smiled at her. "Well….you did get a one year summer vacation, most would give anything for half of that."

Claire nodded her head and crossed her arms over each other, rearing her neck back.

"Sorry, training made me sore, so when will I get to…."

"Not until your eighteen," Harry told Claire and the teenager nodded although there was a tiny note of protest in her eye.

"Right, looking forward to it," Claire offered as she thought about what it'd be like to join the group.

The Justice League was so amazing, heroes. She wanted to hurt people who thought that they were anything but a force for good. The redhead moved off, giving her father a quick goodbye, making her way down the hallway.

"So any progress?"

Harry turned around and saw Artemis standing in the doorway, her hands placed on her hips and a wide smile that went across her face.

"Hey Artemis….depends on what you mean about progress?" Harry asked her.

"Well, Queen….has he been found?" Artemis asked.

"No, I haven't seen him, it's almost like he vanished off of the face of the Earth," Harry commented.

"That's odd….he was most definitely with me, although he ran off to help, even though he was beaten half to death," Artemis recalled.

Harry was not going to lie, if Oliver was beaten nearly halfway to death, then he was probably killed in the meteor shower. His was not going to say anything for sure until he saw a body.

"Well, I'm sure that….I'm sure that you'll find out about where he went," Harry commented.

He wanted closure on this situation; he liked all of his eggs in one basket.

'_Harry…we've got a problem,' _Chloe thought to her.

Harry looked over his shoulder, there was a second where he looked over his shoulder in a frustrated tone.

'_What now?' _Harry asked Chloe.

Chloe was completely confused along with Harry.

'_I've never seen the energy signature like this in my life.'_

Harry knew that could mean many things and he tried to keep his mind on the situation. He walked forward, making careful strides as he moved around.

Harry had Kara and Karen join him, followed by Diana.

'_Someone shouldn't be able to breach the barriers of this place,' _Kara thought him before she added.

'_No, any holes were closed up, trust me, I've tried,' _Alex thought to him.

'_Thanks for the security heads up," _Harry told her, he figured that if anyone could really take a closer look at the security, it would be Alex.

Harry made his way forward down the hallways, ignoring the thumping motions that echoed through the back of his head. He sensed that there was something that tried to breach the building.

'_Someone must want to talk to you badly,' _Kara remarked to her and Harry grabbed her hand.

'_I think it might be urgent, the building is unsure whether to let them in,' _Harry thought to her.

'_Because….well because they might not think that they're a threat,' _Karen thought to him.

'_Right,' _Harry thought to her as he grabbed his arm around Karen's and the three of them went down to the bottom level.

Harry smiled as he took one huge step forward.

'_Open the door,' _Harry thought to them and there was a loud booming that resounded around him.

A tall woman that towered above even Diana walked forward and that was quite the sight. She had long black hair that framed her face and stunning deep blue eyes. She had a red top that wrapped around the upper part of her body, that showcased her nice, large, breasts that looked about ready to burst through her top. Her stomach was toned and it looked to be devoid of any fat whatsoever. She had a pair of tight red shorts that wrapped around her ass, as well as her hips in an amazing fashion. Harry watched her as she had a nice rear that was showcased but her legs were her most defining feature.

They were extremely long, smooth looking, very tanned.

"May I help you," Harry remarked to her, a smile crossing his face.

"My name is Barda, I've come here to warn the chosen one about his coming, so he does not enslave and destroy this world much like he has with countless others."

Harry watched Barda, a smile crossing his face.

"You are him, aren't you?" Barda asked Harry as she saw his physique that put many gods to shame. She was still a little over a head taller than him although he hovered in the air in order to look into her eyes.

"Depends on who you're speaking of," Harry remarked to her as a smile crossed his face. "Whom is coming?

She stated one word. "Darkseid."

Harry was curious to learn more about this. "Well, you've got my attention.

* * *

Memories were something that most took for granted but some appreciated them more when they were snatched away from them in an instant. Those memories could be something that was tangible, amazing, something that was on their mind and in their head.

Those foggy memories returned to a woman who sat on the throne in an alien world that was ravaged by the after effects of war. Her people had lost themselves in the insanity.

She had long red hair that went down past her shoulders. Her green eyes burned with an amazing passion. The green top that wrapped her upper body barely contained the amazing breasts that were supremely large by human standards, but they were large, high, and firm. She had a flat stomach along with a curved frame and a supple ass that was topped off on a green skirt that could be classified as little more as a belt. She had long legs that were smooth, with tanned flesh. Her entire body was tanned and exotic, with the green boots that she was wearing topping off the entire attire quite nicely.

She looked at the orb that rotated in her hand, thoughts of a time that passed long ago flickering through her mind. The time that she was sent to Earth but also sent back, memories that had been wiped from her mind.

Memories that were slowly returning, as she saw him in her mind's eye. There was a sense of him, his tall figure along with a blazing pair of green eyes. His unruly hair was a treat that was something that she considered to be drool worthy. The dark haired man of her dreams kept flickering through her mind, more and more memories returning to her.

"Yes, he's the one," she breathed in a hungry voice as she smiled at the very thought of him. Her hand trailed down her cheek and watched everything come back to her.

Maxima was not going to be denied what she felt was hers for a very long time. Her memories, slowly returning, flashed within her mind's eye. The redhead shifted her body and gave a deeper smile, that widened the more that she thought about it.

He was one who was desired by many women and she felt that she should take her rightful spot at the side of the most powerful man in the entire universe. She dreamed of herself being underneath him, it was an amazing thought and her eyes flashed with unrestrained lust. Her smile growing wide as she thought about it.

"Soon, I'll be coming," Maxima remarked with a smile as she tightened her grip around the large staff that she held in her hand. She slowly ran her hand up and down it, the smile getting even wider on her face. She kept working it over within her hand.

Her smile turned into a grin as she thought about what was to come.

She remembered more about it, including the location. She prepared to head on through the portal and reach her dream man.

The pleasure would be immense for her as she stepped through the glowing vortex.

'_I'm coming, my lord,' _she thought to herself as she prepared to meet her dream man, the smile crossing her face. She would experience pleasure beyond all measure soon.

**To Be Continued.**

Written on September 23rd and 24th 2013, Posted on November 9th 2013.


	5. Chapter 5: Ideal Match

**Chapter Five: Ideal Match.**

"Perhaps it's a crazy hunch but you've come a long way to get here, haven't you?"

Harry walked with Barda through the hallways of the Shining Light Foundation, with Diana, Kara, and Karen alongside them. The dark haired woman smiled, even if the smile was fairly strained as she continued walking next to him.

Yes, I've come a long way," Barda told him as they went into his private office.

She looked around the building quite closely and couldn't but smile at what she'd seen there. There was technology present that she had never seen in her life, and that was saying something.

"So, you know of Darkseid," Harry told her.

Barda sighed, she figured that this much would be obvious. She folded her arms across her chest pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts, before she continued speaking. "I've met him and seen the absolute worst he has to offer."

Harry could tell that she was mentally relieving some extremely bad memories so he walked over and got her a drink. Barda took it graciously.

"He's enslaved countless beings and brainwashed many more to do his bidding," Barda remarked to him as she sighed. "I was one of them. His chief enforcer is a horrid woman by the name of Granny Goodness."

Barda personally thought that the term "woman" was about the nicest thing she could use to describe the demented gargoyle. The dark haired woman placed her hands on the top of her head.

"She's taken many forms and has collected a group of powerful women from all corners of the universe, breaking them down and rebuilding them in her own image, and that image is a horrifying one as you might guess," Barda told Harry and he smiled, even if the smile was fairly forced.

"Yes, I can imagine," Harry offered.

"Those girls have only one purpose and that is to seduce the innocent and then lure them into Darkseid's web, before taking them out and allowing Granny to break their minds," Barda explained to him. "I escaped….but not without a price."

Harry placed his hand on hers and she did not flinch from his contact. In fact she stared back at him with a strong expression in her eyes and then she continued to speak.

"I escaped Granny's tender loving care, few if any were lucky to do so….well to do it alive," Barda told Harry as she recalled a time where she was Granny's brain washed little puppet.

It was hard to remember everything that happened and not be frustrated by the things that she did under Granny's thumb. She was a vile woman to say the very least.

"She sounds like a piece of work," Kara concluded and they all nodded.

"She's dangerous but her master is the real danger, even if his underlings are no picnic," Barda told them. "And I've scoured the entire universe for someone who could take him down but I've come to the conclusion that there's only one person that can do so."

Harry smiled, he knew that this was coming was coming and to be honest, a part of him did embrace what was coming. His green eyes flashed with determination that was steadfast and ready. There was no question about that in his mind.

"I hope that I'm not putting too much pressure on you," Barda said slowly.

Intensity flashed through Harry's eyes at these words. "Pressure….I'll be perfectly honest with you….some people would crack underneath the pressure."

Barda got the message loud and clear, her arms crossed as she surveyed him. "So….you're used to these sort of things?"

She sensed a kindred spirit within Har-Rell, a warrior spirit that sadistic people would take great pleasure in crushing underneath their heel. That fact was something she considered to be one of the greatest tragedies in the world. Yet, it was an unfortunate fact of life and something that had happened again and again throughout history. Her eyes flared at the thought of it and she wished that she could keep him safe from what was to come. But that would be doing a disservice to him.

No, Har-Rell was the type to fight the darkness head on, and win.

"You're ready," Barda said and Harry smiled.

"Well, none of us our truly ready, but yes, I'm prepared," Harry told her as he tightened the hand around him. "And the fact that you came all this way, that speaks well of and proves your ability to survive."

Barda turned towards him. "Well I'm glad that I'm impressing you."

"Trust me, it takes a lot to impress me," Harry commented to her as he decided to go for broke and see if she had anymore information to offer. "But, do you know anything in regards as to when he's set to arrive here?"

It was Barda's chance to speak. "I wish I could tell you, I really wish that I knew."

Barda meant that in all honesty, she also had one more warning to give Harry.

"With Darkseid, you can expect everything that you know to be challenged and people to give into their darker impulses," Barda warned him.

"He tries to manipulate and twist around the most noble of people," Harry said darkly.

Barda offered him a slight smile as she nodded. The dark haired woman placed her hands on her hips and continued to speak to him.

"He enjoys the challenge, being a sadistic torturer and his underlings are devoted to him, a little too devoted," Barda warned him. "Any horror you could think from in history, it all goes back to Darkseid."

"Of course it does," Harry said, he figured that much.

He was beginning to realize the main reason why he was sent here.

"So, I've come all this way here, I think that there should be some perks for me coming here," Barda told him as she looked down at Harry after getting up to her feet. She towered several inches over him, almost a foot, truth be told.

The green eyes of Harry Potter met her blue eyes and the two of them looked deeply into each others eyes.

"Women, you….you always want something from me," Harry remarked to her in a teasing manner.

"Not too much, and not just yet," Barda told him as she smiled. "I came all this way, it would be a disservice not to enjoy the culture that Earth has to offer first."

Harry couldn't help but smile in understanding.

* * *

Harry was not about to do anything halfway, especially when he had this tall and beautiful Amazon on his arm as he walked into one of the greatest establishments in Metropolis. Barda craned her neck and took everything around her in.

"Not too bad," Barda remarked. Granted she knew that there were certain limitations so she was not going to set her standards too high. Still everything that she saw blew her away and then some. The dark haired woman kept her eyes tracing around every inch of the establishment.

"I'm glad you approve, really I am," Harry told her with a bright smile crossing his face.

Barda more than approved, she thought that this was amazing. Although this was not a complete pleasure trip, at least not all the way, but she was going to take whatever pleasure she could. Her dark hair was pushed from her face.

"Well, your approval is also something that is highly sought out by many women," Barda told him.

_That's very true,' Kara thought in amusing. Being the Alpha, she had the unfortunate job of keeping all of the bitches in line. Thankfully Diana, Karen, and now Lois was able to back her up, thanks to their commanding personalities._

'_I'd second that fact,' Karen thought to Kara and Harry, in amusement._

Barda was dressed in a long red dress that showcased her body, showing her nice cleavage that nearly spilled out of her top. She turned around and allowed Harry a nice view of her ass.

"And candlelit as well, very nice," Barda told him as she eyed the candles that were laid out in front of her. Her smile widened across her face.

"Once again, I'm glad you approve," Harry told her as she licked her lips. "You have to try the steak, it's to die for. The wine is better."

Thanks to her biology Barda couldn't really become drunk by drinking Earth alcohol, despite that fact she did enjoy the taste of it.

"And we can speak freely without anyone overhearing," Harry remarked to her and Barda raised an eyebrow, holding her glass in her hand and taking a sip from it. "It's magic, it can do a lot of things."

"So, I can see," Barda told him as she started to drink.

She remembered something and figured that it was something that Harry needed to know.

"If Darkseid's coming, at least one of his agents is already here," Barda remarked to him.

Harry thought that they'd already established that Darkseid was coming. His eyes traveled over her briefly.

"And you think its likely Granny?" Harry asked her and Barda's eyes flashed with anger.

"Yes, I think it's likely her, in fact, I know it's her, she's always the first one he sends," Barda remarked as she grabbed onto the table causing some damage to it as she gripped it a bit too tightly.

Harry calmly used a spell to repair the damage, allowing Barda to collect herself before they continued their conversation.

"Okay….so it's her, and you mentioned something about taking the best and strongest girls," Harry told her and Barda nodded before she told him what her game was.

"She normally poses as a kindly Orphanage matron that seduces the children and allows them to think that she is there to help them but it's from help that she offers them," Barda told Harry and the wizard raised an eyebrow towards her. "She has a chosen few that she takes with her to look for new recruits. They are the most loyal to her, along with the most broken by her."

Barda was not going to say that there was a time where she was amongst these chosen few. It was a long time ago and her eyes swam with a great deal of pain. The dark haired woman saw Harry pass her another drank and she took it.

"And she likes to start on them young, that way there's more time to break them down," Barda offered Harry as she shifted towards him.

Harry understood the implications of that statement and he kept his mind moving around. The green eyes of Harry Potter showed so many emotions now and he could understand the danger of a woman who liked to break the minds of young girls. After all, if she liked to do that to young females, who knows what she would do to people who were strong and able enough to fight back.

"She needs to be found and stopped," Harry remarked to Barda out loud as he continued to think about it. He was not sure if this Granny Goodness was an undesirable but if she was not, then she really should be. That was the fact of the matter.

"I agree and I'll do what I can to help you stop her," Barda offered Harry.

If a few people slipped from Granny's control, then it was an excellent start. There was a sense that Barda had, a nagging feeling that she had been here far longer than even Darkseid. It was an advanced force, to stir the seeds of discontent in the minds of the people before his arrival.

"We will stop her," Harry told her.

That confidence was something that pumped Barda up beyond anything that she ever realized. Her eyes flashed with strength.

"She killed him, years ago," Barda informed Harry and there was a sense that she was reflecting upon something that happened a long time ago.

"Take your time," Harry told her.

"Scott, he was….well it was a deal between Apokolips and another planet known as New Genesis, and….he was traded with Darkseid's son, his favored son," Barda explained, talking about the other foul waste of a son who she had the misfortune of encountering. She shuddered a small amount as her stomach twisted around at the thought.

Barda calmed herself, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"He escaped….then helped me escape….but he always came back, to try and free others. He was called Mister Miracle because of his ability to worm his way out of the tightest corners," Barda told Harry. Her eyes swam but she took a drink to calm herself. "And…one day...he ran out of miracles."

"So it's personal," Harry concluded.

"It was years ago and he was just another number to Granny and Darkseid," Barda said, her voice raising due to her fierce anger.

"Just don't make it get too personal, people could get hurt and not the people who we want to get hurt," Harry told her.

"If we don't stop them, people aren't just going to be hurt. They're going to die," Barda warned Harry.

That was something that he was not going to deny. The two of them kept on eating their dinner.

* * *

Maxima did not enjoy suffering setbacks. The haughty queen was not going to be set back once again. She entered the portal, fully remembering what happened the last time. How she pursued the wrong person, although that idea clicked in her head a bit too late. She was sent back through the portal and back home, with her memories scrambled.

They came back in flickers, images, going through her dreams. Her eyes flooded with thinly veiled lust. The more that came back, the stronger that she felt, and the greater that she felt. She envisioned her lord and master taking her down and causing her to feel pleasure beyond all measure. The fluttering of lust passed through her eyes and the smile got wider on her face.

She returned back to Metropolis, there were memories that popped back into her mind. Yet, these memories, while making her whole once again, were making it hard for the redhead to concentrate on her goal. Which was to find the only man who could master her, who could handle her kiss. But she could feel herself closing in on him.

She saw that the people on the streets stop and look at her as she passed them. Whilst she would have normally been amused by the attention, it was not something that was of high priority. The redhead had only one man on her mind and pure lust filled her eyes.

'_Soon,' _she thought to herself.

She smiled and then she added to herself.

'_Sooner than you think,' _Maxima added mentally to herself as she continued to make her way through the streets.

Her eyes continued to flood with her heated lust and she made her way forward, pushing herself towards her destination one step at a time.

"Hey lady…."

Maxima turned to the fresh faced young man that stood before her and her eyes locked onto him. Her tongue trailed across her lip as the man nervously watched her. She took great satisfaction in the fact that she was likely more woman than he had ever seen.

"Yes," Maxima told him in a high and proud voice as his heart nervously twitched in his chest.

The young man's eyes widened in recognition. "That's….Harry Potter."

Maxima smiled, he was almost adorable in his sense of nervousness and she reached forward. He was like a pet but perhaps he could help her.

"I'm looking for someone," Maxima remarked to him.

"Of course, all the good looking ones normally are," the young man stated as he slumped down.

"Have you seen him?" Maxima asked as she put up a holographic image of the young man. His messy dark hair, his green eyes, his sculpted body, it was unmistakable.

The young man's eyes widened as he drank in the recognition. "He's….Harry Potter."

"Yes, I'm aware of who he is," Maxima told the man in a patient voice, even though the tone was forced.

"Right, I knew….I knew that," the young man told her.

"Do you know where he is?"

The young man nearly tripped over his feet to answer the redhead warrior queen. "I saw him go down the street…he had a young woman on his arm….and she was tall and a real beauty."

Maxima smiled, she would expect nothing less from Har-Rell, her dear soul mate. The redhead's eyes kept watching everything around her.

"He went into a restaurant, down the street, it's a place you have to pay an arm and leg to get into," the young man offered some thinly veiled bitterness flashing through his voice.

He wanted to get into that establishment but he had to pay an arm and a leg just to even think about it and he was not that well off.

The young man pointed it out and Maxima's eyes widened with even more hunger. She was this close to getting a piece of her soulmate that she can almost taste him and the taste she imagined was extremely delicious. Her hunger and her lust was something that needed a special man to sate.

"I thank you," Maxima said haughtily as she turned around.

Of course, what she would find between those doors would be her own reward. The redhead moved forward calmly. She was only half aware of the stares that she received and they were extremely flattering to say the very least but she needed to keep on task. Her mind was fixated on one thing and one thing alone and that was locating her lord, wherever he was holed up.

'_Soon,' _Maxima thought to herself in an extremely hungry tone of voice.

She was getting closer; excitement resounded throughout her body and a flash of sensual fury went through her eyes.

Maxima saw the doors that she had been pointed to and the young man was correct. It was a good thing for him because he would have to suffer horrific consequences if he was wrong or worse if he was lying to her. No one dared lie to the Queen of Almerac, to do so was death. Her eyes flashed with desire and her tongue trailed over her lips as she got a perfect glimpse of him.

She hated to wait but Queen Maxima was not going to lie, the wait would be more than worth it for the prize that was ahead.

Little did she know that in her single minded desire she had been noticed. Not that she cared because there was only one thing on her mind.

* * *

Despite the gravity of the situation, Barda had to admit that she was loosening up more and more in Harry's presence. There was something about him, some charm that caused her to let down her guard around him.

"I think you've got the situation at hand, under control until you get further information that you can act on," Barda offered him with a smile on her face.

"I'm glad," Harry told Barda with a smile as he heard the doors fly off the hinges and smash down onto the ground.

Barda stood up as Harry sighed. Obviously he wouldn't be able to go out for one night without having something like this happen but he wondered exactly what the situation was. A smile crossed his face as he allowed himself a moment to look around.

He saw a familiar face standing there, beautiful with red hair, tall with long legs and amazing assets. He watched her mature body walk into the room heading towards him.

He also saw Diana positioned off to the side standing within the shadows of the room, keeping an eye out for anything problematic. The dark haired Amazon princess turned her gaze to the situation at hand.

'_Maxima,' _Harry thought to them and Karen gave a surprised gasp through the bond link.

'_I….I wiped her memories, she shouldn't have found her way back,' _Karen stated in a frustrated tone of voice and Kara jumped in after a few seconds.

'_Well obviously it didn't stick,' _Kara told her as she shook her head.

'_Maybe she's not here for the reasons that we think she is,' _Chloe thought with amusement and there was some frustrated gasps that came through the bond directed towards her._ 'And maybe I'm losing it.'_

Barda's eyes flashed for a second as Maxima stepped towards her. She had heard of this queen, she was haughty and had a bit of an ego. The redhead reached the table.

"I have been searching for you, my love," Maxima offered as she stepped towards Harry.

"Can't you see we're in the middle of dinner," Barda told Maxima as she stepped in front of her causing the redhead to raise an eyebrow towards her with a smile crossing her face.

There was a tense stare down between both of them and Harry could have cut the tension in air with a dull butter knife. He felt a bit of nervousness go through him as his stomach twisted a tiny bit. Maxima and Barda kept their eyes locked onto each other.

"You may be a fierce warrior but you should stand down," Maxima told her.

Barda's eyes flashed with her frustration as she placed her hands against each other and stepped even closer to the red haired Warrior Queen.

'_Kara, Karen, get in here, get the civilians out. Now,' _Harry thought to them urgently and the two blondes moved in.

Barda was not someone who worked through her issues in a diplomatic manner, unless you counted punching someone full strength in the face as a form of diplomacy. She spoke through her fists, one of which had just blasted it's way across Maxima's face.

Maxima slid backwards due to the force of the blow. Growling in anger she rushed forward towards Barda, proceeding to nail her with a huge kick to the side of the head.

Harry got up to his feet and was about to intervene when he saw Maxima grab a hand full of Barda's hair yanking on it roughly. The dark haired warrior responded by grabbing her around the waist and tackling her through the closet window.

They crashed through the window with a huge impact that sent glass flying everywhere, not that it damaged them any. The two of them landed with a splash into the waters of a fountain outside.

Maxima kept her grip on Barda's head, though both females were dripping wet now. The two of them tried to break free of each others grip. Due to the water dripping down their bodies, the material of their clothes clung enticingly to their bodies. Due to the momentum of their continued struggle the two them crashed through the statue in the center of the fountain. Destroying it completely.

Diana watched the battle, an eyebrow raised in surprise as she took in what was going on in front of her, her mouth hung open for half a second in her shock before the dark haired woman closed it. Placing her hands on her hips before she stepped over.

Maxima negligently smashed Diana with a back handed punch as she approached them, before grabbing Barda again and trying to force her down onto the pavement. Barda fired back with a series of elbows to the back of the head and then grabbed Maxima by the hair.

Diana's pride took a slight hit due to Maxima punching her like she was a mere annoyance. She pushed forward with a mighty glare in her eyes. Her kick nailed Maxima in the face. Another kick was blocked but Diana turned around and snapped a roundhouse kick into the other side of Maxima's head. She attempted to grab her around the waist but Maxima pushed out and grabbing Diana instead, ripped her suit jacket off.

Barda rushed forward, her dress had been torn off, leaving her in her lacy red underwear. She charged her adversary and grabbing her around the waist, speared her into the ground. A series of thunderous punches rocked Maxima with increasing intensity and she nailed her with a huge stomp to the stomach. She was grabbed around the side of the head and pushed back down onto the ground. It was a chaotic mess and it was really hard to see from an outside observer who was doing what to who.

Maxima's skirt was torn off to reveal that she was wearing the skimpiest undergarments.

Harry smiled, this fight was going to end in only one way and while one could say that this fight was just getting interesting, especially considering Diana that had just lost her skirt as well, he had to jump in and end this battle before people got hurt in the crossfire.

The emerald eyed wizard bent his knees for a moment before springing into the air. In one fluid motion, he grabbed Maxima around the waist.

Maxima smiled as her would be mate rushed her into the air. They moved with delicious friction and he was taking her off to conquer her just as she imagined.

Her arms and legs wrapped around him as she rubbed her panty covered crotch down onto his groin and hurled him down onto the ground.

Harry rolled her over and kissed her. Maxima's eyes widened as he took her lips and bite them fiercely, working her wet clothes off of her body. She had no idea where they were but there was no one around for miles.

Barda and Diana showed up, as Maxima tore Harry's pants off and unsheathed his mighty spear from him.

**Smut/Lemon Begins. **

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends. **

* * *

"So that was a night that you'll never forget."

Harry nodded as he sank down, his two newest lovers were out like a light, although given their sex drives, they would be back up shortly for more. That was a statement that he could take to the bank. His eyes flashed in amusement as he sat down.

"And you can still keep going like you were the energizer bunny," Chloe remarked as she walked over towards him and planted a kiss on her husband's lips. The blonde pulled back, an amused and quite frankly amazed glint going through her eye before she stated the obvious. "Well it's just another day in the life of Harry Potter, isn't it?"

Harry smiled as he allowed Chloe to sit down next to him. The radio was on, Godfrey was spewing his latest load of shit and his attention was grabbed by one thing and one thing alone.

His counterpart was about ready to begin his interview with Godfrey and a smile crossed his face as he waited for it, his fingers tapping against the edge of the couch.

"Well, this is one of those battles that you don't know who to root for,' Chloe remarked.

Harry smiled at his second wife before he told her. "Don't tell Karen or Tess, but I have to admit that I'm rooting for Harrison."

Chloe nodded, he did seem like to be the lesser of two evils although it was through a very narrow margin.

"I've been looking more into Project Power Plant….you were right in collecting all of the meteor infected and getting them into a safe place, the government's looking for an army, some kind of Suicide Squad or something along those lines," Chloe told him and he raised his eyebrow. "Because they're trying to train an army of children, teenagers, young adults at best to take down trained heroes."

"Suicide is a likely term then," Harry informed her and Chloe tightened her hand against his.

"Yes, it would be," Chloe agreed as she relaxed.

The commercials were nothing of note although Harry almost felt like he should be looking for some kind of subliminal messages in them. There was a lot of talk about the VRA, although the bill was delayed thanks to some creative maneuvering on the part of Harry. Bruce Wayne and another person had apparently done similar but he wasn't quite certain who that person was.

Delayed, not destroyed, Harry noted. A smile crossed his face and he ran his hands through the back of his head, working his hair out of his face. He knew that the fun was just about to begin for this and he threw his shoulders back.

"It isn't over, is it?" Chloe asked to him.

"That much is for sure," Harry told the blonde as Kara joined them.

Karen also joined them with a frown on her face.

"I want to know what he's saying," Karen told both of them and the blonde sat down next to them. The oldest, most busty blonde sat on one side of Harry, with Chloe sitting on the other side of him and Kara sitting on his lap.

"Know your enemy," Kara told the woman and Karen nodded.

"Right," Karen told her with a smile that crossed her face.

Know your enemy because if you did not know them, then it was really hard to know yourself. The older blonde offered an extremely labored sigh as she folded her hands over her back. The young woman kept herself steady as she felt Harry's arm wrap around her.

'_Here it comes, can't say that I'm rooting for either of them,' _Tess chimed in.

'_Well, Harrison, like it or not, is the lesser of two evils, there's something off about Godfrey,'_ Lily chimed in. She could not put her finger on it but there was something that was really screwy about him, he was able to manipulate the hearts and minds of people way too easily.

'_You think that….actually that's a good point,' _Harry thought to Lily.

He did not have a way to decide one way or another. He turned his head and listened to the voice of Godfrey.

"I'm G. Gordon Godfrey and I'm here with the new hero of Metropolis, you know him as Harrison Luthor," Godfrey remarked to him. "He took control of LuthorCorp out from underneath Tess Mercer and Harry Potter and now he's turning the company around after the previous regimes crippling mismanagement."

Harry thought it was unfair to imply that the mismanagement was their fault. Lex had made a lot of questionable decisions and put a huge hole of the company's bottom line. That was the fact of the matter and there was no question about it.

"Mr. Luthor, I trust you have been following the Vigilante Registration Act," Godfrey remarked to him over the radio.

"Yes, I have and I'm afraid that I don't approve of it," Harrison remarked to him.

This was a statement that caught them all off guard, and that included Godfrey. The group leaned in with even more interest as they listened to the broadcast.

"And why don't you approve of it?" Godfrey asked him in a curious tone of voice.

"I don't improve it for reasons that are simple, if you can read between the lines," Harrison remarked as he took control of the situation. "Do you really think that vigilantes are going to comply just because some law was put into place?"

"An interesting perspective," Godfrey remarked as there was a tense statement in his tone.

"Yes, because vigilantes by their very definition are already committing actions that are outside of the law," Harrison remarked to him. "You back them into a corner and innocent people are going to get hurt."

Harrison paused and decided to stab the knife into the side of everyone, as only he can.

"You know, the government should step up their game then try and cover up for their own deficiencies," Harrison added.

"And you think…."

"I don't think, I know, and I know that the government are training their own super powered minions, Mr. Potter was correct, this was all about control," Harrison commented. "And you're not in control, no matter how much you slice it."

"I'm afraid the issue is…."

Harrison cut him off. "Confused….I hardly get confused."

There was a tense moment and it was obvious that Godfrey was going to try and cut him off like he did Harry but Harrison kept speaking.

"Tell me? Do you feel safe with the government having their own super powered weapons that can be pointed out you at any time," Harrison questioned the listening audience as one could sense the devilish smile that crossed his face. "I doubt you would feel safe, because I sure wouldn't, and I'm more able to defend myself than most."

There was a long pause as Harrison plowed on.

"It's not the vigilantes that are the problem. It's the fact that situations are being created where they're the only solution to the problem and LuthorCorp will do it's part to limit this need for capes," Harrison continued. "Is the government willing to take the steps that are needed or is all they're going to do is offer up is excuses?"

That was a question that hung in the air and Godfrey wondered why he could not cut Harrison off.

The answer to that question was really quite simple. The radio station was now underneath the control of the LuthorCorp banner so now they marched to the drumbeat of Harrison Luthor.

**To Be Continued in the Next Chapter. **

Written on September 24th and 25th 2013, Published on November 12th 2013.


	6. Chapter 6: Fright Night Part One

**Chapter Six: Fright Night Part One. **

Laura smiled as she thought about the strides that she'd made in the past month or so since she arrived at the Shining Light Foundation. She came to a new and fairly horrific world that she did not understand, where she heading and what she was going to do. However, the blonde was moving a long way towards mastering her powers and it was a good thing. The bright smile that crossed her face was amazing beyond all measure. She placed her hands on the top of her head and smiled.

It was so amazing how far she came as her eyes glowed and she shot a beam of heat vision through it, carving the pumpkin up. There was no awkwardness in her carving the initials, not this time at least. She managed to carve the pumpkins with precision.

There was a loud and slow clapping and Laura spun around to see Harry standing there with a smile on his face.

"Congratulations, you've done well," Harry told her and Laura smiled at him.

"Thank you," Laura told him, she caught a glimpse of his green eyes and immediately got weak in the knees. She was about ready to stagger over to greet him and she felt butterflies flap within her stomach. "It's all thanks to you."

Laura rushed over and threw her arms around Harry in a tight hug. She blushed slightly but maintained a confident expression on her face. Harry reciprocated her actions as the sixteen, close to seventeen, year old girl ground her body into him. An adoring smile was on the blond teenagers face as she felt him respond to her actions.

"I would have been captured and dissected if you hadn't of done anything," Laura offered him weakly.

Harry was about to assure her that nothing like that was going to happen but he knew better, boy did he ever know better. He sighed as he thought about what could have happened to the blonde as he absently brushed the hair away from her face. She smile on her face only widened further as he played with her hair.

"So, are you doing well with your other lessons?" Harry asked Laura.

Laura's smile if possible got even wider when she heard his question. "Har, I learned a lot when I was on Krypton before I came here. You know? So I wouldn't be completely hopeless upon arriving here."

Harry smiled to her, he never said that she was completely hopeless. The blonde was an amazing female to say the least and he wanted to know even more about her. He placed his hand on the side of her hand and she flinched a slight bit but in many other ways, she had a widened smile across her face.

Laura was reaching a point where her hormones were getting out of control due to her exposure to the yellow sun and there was obviously only one man on Earth that could sate her desires. She smiled as she worked up the nerve.

"So how's the outpost?" Laura asked to him.

"It's good, everyone is settled in," Harry told Laura and the blonde nodded.

She had seen it briefly, it was a perfect reproduction of Krypton, the Fortress of Solitude, brand new and improved, not to mention expanded. It was a marvel of technology and magic and Laura could not be more pleased by this work. The blonde ran her hands through her hair, making her face more visible to Harry.

"You're thinking a lot about what happened, aren't you?" Harry asked to her and Laura offered a nod of her head.

That was true, she was thinking about the destruction of Krypton and also what happened to Kandor in her universe. The things that she'd lost, as well as with her version of Kal-El. She knew that there was no way to return home so she took Harry's word that he had made it safely. He had to have made it safely because Harry said so and she had that type of confidence in him.

She smiled at the thought of that and a mischievous grin crossed her face.

"So, I've been practicing my sparring and I've been getting better and better at it," Laura offered to Harry as she looked him over. "But I want a second opinion."

"Do you?" Harry asked to her.

The blonde's eyes traveled up and down his body as she eyed him hungrily with a nod. A grin crossing her face as she cupped her chin in her hand. The teenager rolled her shoulders back and stood in a rigid stance.

"How about we make things interesting?" Laura asked him.

Harry raised a questioning eyebrow towards her and the blonde continued to grin as she pushed on. She kept her hands on the top of her head and ran her fingers through her hair, curling it in her fingers while pouting at him. "Well, let's have a spar, just between the two of us. If you beat me, you do what you want to me and if I beat you, I do what I want to you."

'_Either way, we both win,' _Laura mentally added.

Harry waved towards her and Laura smiled.

She tried to follow it up with a dropkick to Harry's face but he caught her feet and hurled her down.

Harry wrapped his arms firmly around Laura to hold her in position. The blonde woman ran up the wall and bounced off of it, flipping over top of him and onto her feet behind him.

She bounced off of the wall and tried to dropkick Harry in the face but Harry caught her feet and hurled her down.

The wizard took advantage of her prone position as he pinned her down.

"Well, that was fun," Harry told her but Laura pushed him off with strength.

He staggered and she flew him backwards with a smile.

Laura adjusted the buttons on her top. Whilst her breasts were not as big as Kara's, especially Karen's, they were getting there, she had a nice set of C-Cup breasts, perky and firm. She showed Harry a shameless view of her cleavage.

"There's more than one way to beat a person," Laura breathed in a faux innocent voice as she grabbed Harry's crotch and squeezed him.

His eyes flooded over with a thinly veiled amount of lust and Laura pushed him down onto the ground. She started to massage his package with a great deal of enthusiasm.

"Let's see….mmm that looks good!" Laura squealed in excitement.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends. **

X-X-X

Gotham City was ranked at the second most dangerous place in the United States. Though that tended to vary depending on who was currently locked into or had escaped from Arkham Asylum at the time. Some of the criminals who made Gotham they're home were horrors beyond all measure and it was not a city that most people stepped inside, well not willingly. It was rather sad when people in the city thought that gangsters weren't the worst thing that they had to deal with. Hell for a long time the Cops where thought to be even worse.

Then a couple of years ago, a dark protector from the shadows showed up. The Dark Knight, Batman, he was an urban legend to most but some had seen him.

"Yeah, Batman, he's like twenty feet tall and breaths fire."

"No, that's not right, you idiot. He can walk through walls, breath ice, and he shoots laser beams out of his eyes."

"I heard that Batman's secretly Chuck Norris!"

Never the less, whether or not how true those statements were, the fact of the matter was that Batman was there and he took care of things so the average citizens of Gotham City did not have to worry about them. The Dark Knight moved into the night, he was vengeance, he was the night, he was Batman!

Yet, there were forces beyond the horrors of Gotham City that people saw in the news. There were many more scary urban legends then what went on in Gotham City.

A young girl made her way down an alleyway, she was completely terrified. She missed the bus and taking a cab in Gotham City wasn't an ideal situation, given the fact that some of the cab drivers in this city were of the scuzzy variety.

She nervously made her way forward down the alley. The woman kept making her way deep she could have sworn she heard a rustling behind her.

She carried pepper spray but she wondered if that would be enough against some of the freaks that had been rumored to set up shop in Gotham City. There was a giant crocodile man that would chew up people and spit them out without a second thought, hell he'd eaten a quarter of the Gotham homeless population alone. Her hands nervously twisted around the bottle as she looked around and a pair of strong hands grabbed her. Causing her to give out a frantic yelp as it happened.

"Subject appears terrified."

She felt suddenly light headed and then she backed off.

There was a glowing pair of red eyes that was in the shadows.

"Heart rate accelerated."

She wondered who was saying this and suddenly, she found a large rat on her hand.

The woman did the only thing that seemed logical in a situation like this; she reared her head back and screamed bloody murder. Yet, every time she screamed, there were more rats that were crawling all over her body. They were all over her and the harder that she fought; the more she felt the rats swarm all over her.

A young boy walked down the alleyway and his eyes went wide as he saw her. From his point of view, he saw a young woman who was smacking her hands all over her body like she was trying to swat something off.

He would not even be out on the streets if his mother did not blow all of her money on crack. He watched the woman nervously as she tried to beat herself down while screaming at the top of her lungs.

"MAKE THEM STOP!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as now she looked like she was going to claw out her eyes. Blood poured down her face as she gouged the tips of her fingernails into her skin.

"Ma'am?" the boy asked as he walked forward but he saw her purse on the ground.

He picked it up and pulled out her money and credit cards.

The woman dropped to the ground with a thump as blood oozed from the lines she'd gouged into her skin that. Her breathing stopped when her heart did and she was left a wrecked, lifeless mess on the ground.

The boy watched her die and turned around only to see his father standing in the alleyway in front of him.

"You….you…you can't be here!" the boy remarked.

His father was balding, with yellow teeth, and a pot belly. He stepped towards him.

"Son, you didn't forget about the special times we had together, did you?" the man told him with an uneven grin. "Remember, me smacking around your slut of a mother. Fucking crack addict, she ruined my life. But I never forgot about my time that I spent with my special little boy."

He put his hand on his son's shoulders and the boy's eyes widened as he screamed.

"I'll give you something to cry about, you little cocksucker!" his father bellowed as he picked up a crowbar and smashed him in the face. "Because that's all you're good for!….What?! Are you going to cry you little fucking queer?!"

The young boy was forced down onto his knees and kicked hard in the face.

Anyone looking at him would only have seen a young boy down on his knees, his head rocking back and forth.

He kept screaming, begging for it to stop.

"Okay son, just calm down," one of the cops who'd arrived on the scene remarked, but the boy picked up a pipe and swung it at the cop.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" the boy yelled at the top of his lungs, fury flashing through his eyes as he kept swinging wildly like he was pushing against an invisible force.

He screamed as he exerted his body so forcefully, his back snapped.

Paramedics arrived, to try and revive the woman and to sedate the boy before he suffered a similar fate.

A man standing across from the street on top of the building stood and watched. He was wearing a hat that covered his face. His face was ghastly, with sunken in eyes, and grey hair. He wore a long trench coat as his hand clutched around a walking stick.

'_Subjects break down too fast,' _he thought as he offered a twisted smile. _'Stronger test subjects are needed to test the potency of the fear gas.'_

X-X-X

Barbara Gordon dropped down onto a rooftop, frustration flowing through her eyes as she hastened her travels towards a certain destination.

Her cowl was pulled over her head as she slipped into the guise of Batgirl. After being Batgirl for nearly a year, it was like pulling on a glove. She stood outside, wondering if their claims to come if she called them if anything broke was serious or if they were just pulling on her Bat boots.

There was a sound of footsteps setting down behind her and she looked over her shoulder.

Supergirl stood there, dressed in her usual blue outfit with a yellow shield with an "S" inside and a red skirt that went down to her knees, along with thigh high red boots. She floated towards Barbara, a smile on her face.

"Hey, Batgirl, we got your message, it seemed urgent," Kara prompted.

"Yeah, it did," Arcane remarked from behind her and Batgirl nearly jumped out of her Bat boots as she heard him.

Her heart went aflutter as she saw him but she had to keep her emotions in check when he was around, no matter how tempting it was to allow them to get away from her. The redhead crimefighter saw a third woman who showed up.

She was dressed in a black one piece outfit with stars running down it that wrapped around her gorgeous body like a second skin. It barely covered her heavy D Cup breasts but it wrapped around them snugly to keep them from popping. There was an immense amount of cleavage that was showcased and Barbara found herself slightly distracted by this sight.

"Barbara Gordon, meet Donna Troy," Harry whispered so only the two of them could hear each other.

"Call me Wondergirl," Donna informed her with a smile and Kara and Barbara gave her looks which caused her to get defensive. "What?….Supergirl...Batgirl….now Wondergirl….we've got a motif going. Why mess up a good thing."

Harry and Kara eyed each other and both of them smiled.

"So, what was so urgent?" Harry asked Barbara.

Barbara was more serious then Harry had ever seen her in his entire life or at least the time that he'd known her, which was fairly disturbing since she tended to be pretty perky with a tendency to ramble. The redhead prepared herself to speak and Harry encouraged her to do so. After a moment to let out a sigh, Barbara started to detail what was going on.

"Well it's like this," Barbara offered Harry and he waved his hand slightly, he sensed the seriousness of the situation. "There have been people dropping dead in Gotham City."

Kara could not resist chiming in with the obvious comment. "So….it's Gotham City, capital of the weird, people always drop dead."

Barbara was quick to amend her statement. "Well, nothing like this."

Harry invited her to continue even though he had a feeling that this was not going to be his liking. The redhead crime fighter did so, with no fear going through her eyes. Considering what the reports that she read were like, her having no fear was an irony to end all ironies but never the less, she boldly and bravely pressed on.

"Well it's like this, they've never been killed quite like this," Barbara told him in a worried voice and Harry placed his hand on the side of her face. She closed her eyes and smiled as she mentally drew some strength from him as she nuzzled into his hand.

Strength was needed as she pulled the photos that she borrowed from her father's desk.

"Terrorized, with looks of abject fear on their faces," Barbara told him.

Harry gently took the pictures from her and used his enhanced vision to carefully scan over them. He saw a shadow in the alleyway that might not have been picked up by normal human eyes.

"There was someone at the scene of the crime each time," Harry whispered to Barbara and the red head's eyes went wide and she slowly rotated on the spot to face him.

He waved his hand causing certain details of the photo to be enhanced to the same level as his vision and she watched as the details of the photo were brought to even greater focus. The redhead's eyes widened even further as she took notice of what Harry had.

Donna couldn't help but chime in with a few words of her own. "The same creep's in all of the photos, every single one of them."

"Right in one," Kara stated with a frown. She scanned the photo and she'd be lying if she said that they didn't send a chill down her spine.

Harry was trying to fit everything together, one demented puzzle piece at a time, even though it was extremely hard to do so. He wondered about the intentions of this person and what they had planned for the City.

"There's a new player in Gotham City," Harry told her and Barbara stood extremely rigid as she nodded.

"That's not even the worst part of it."

Donna was the one who was curious about what she meant by that. "...How could it be?"

"I haven't seen Batman around for the last week," Barbara told them.

"So, maybe he's busy?" Donna suggested to her with a smile on her face but Barbara was ready to shut that one down as quickly as possible.

Barbara smiled although that smile was forced. "Trust me, Batman isn't…..he's never too busy to step on my toes and tell me what I'm doing wrong. Both the Bat and his pet bird are always around even when I bust a jaywalker to ream me out about my technique or lack there of."

"Sounds just like my sister," Donna muttered to herself and Harry turned to her with a raised eyebrow but the dark haired girl said nothing further than this.

Kara, being the oldest and most responsible of the three girls, decided to cut to the chase. "You say that Batman's gone. When's the last time that he'd been seen?"

Barbara racked her mind for an answer to that question and then came up with the quick response. "It was….it was a few days ago as I told you. He was going in for a sting and he warned me to stay out of it. Standard Batman fare, nothing unusual."

Harry smiled and nodded. "Yes I see."

Although he was trying to rack his brain as he put together all the information he had on the situation. He wondered if this latest set of attacks and the disappearances of Batman coincided.

Harry was going to find out more and he turned to Batgirl slowly.

Barbara's eyes were on Arcane and there was a sense that he stared into her soul."Take me to the last place you saw Batman."

X-X-X

As Harry suspected it was one of the warehouse's in the worst parts of Old Gotham and he kept scanning the side of the warehouse for anything that was more dubious than the usual Gotham fare. It was rat infested, with boards that were about to rot through and they looked extremely ready to deteriorate. It was a nasty place, there was no question about it. It was a stomach turning place and the wizard's eyes continued to scan the building closely.

Supergirl, Batgirl, and Wondergirl popped up to join Harry at the scene. Kara stopped and paused. Harry held his hand up and peered over the railing to take a look at what was going on.

"Your typical dimestore thugs," Barbara commented as she looked them over and frowned. "We can take them out easily."

Harry gave her a stern look and spoke. "Don't get too confident now."

The redhead turned her eyes to him and nodded. That was something that she struggled with at times. The first few months of her career, she had been able to use the element of surprise to thrive and survive against her enemies. Then the enemies got stronger and smarter as Batgirl got more well known and her ass got handed to her more times than she cared to remember.

It was just part of the growing process of becoming a crime fighter.

Donna had stayed quiet, having understood the need for stealth considering just how well trained she was. She whispered to Harry. "So….what are we doing….what are we waiting for?"

"Just calm down, and wait for it to happen," Harry told her.

'_Any one of these people could know where our missing Bat ran off to,' _Harry thought to his girls, all of whom nodded.

It was a matter of timing, something that was a lost art by many but something that Harry excelled at. He placed his hand on the edge of the rail and looked down. Kara turned her eyes towards him, wondering if the four of them would be enough.

Then she shook these weird thoughts out of her head, of course the four of them would be more than enough. The four of them would be sufficient. The blonde could have smacked herself in the head for having such a complete and utter blonde moment.

"Ready?" Harry asked the blonde and she smiled.

"Yes," Kara told him and Barbara nodded eagerly as well, as Donna.

He saw the mobsters. Bullets could not hurt three of them and the protective charms that he put on Barbara's costume should keep her from being harmed as well. Granted, they didn't want to test that out.

Harry bounced down from the ceiling first and the three nearest mobsters did not know what hit them as he slammed his fist into the ground as he landed between them an explosive shockwave sending them flying head over heels with a thunderous crack.

The mobsters barely had enough time to pull their pants on as Batgirl landed in a crouch in front of them.

"Look it's Batman!" Batgirl cried out as she pointed at something behind them causing the goons stupidly turned around to check. This allowed Batgirl to bop their heads together with a zwapp and they collapsed to the ground. The redhead was completely surprised that one worked. "I can't believe they fell for that one."

Kara smiled as she squinted her eyes and heat vision burned through a rope which sent paint cans onto the enemies onto her enemies. The blonde zipped around at super speed and grabbed what appeared to be the leader of the pack. He screamed like a little girl….although that might be an insult to little girls everywhere with the way that he screamed.

Suddenly the goon was suspended upside down by his feet and Kara was looking him in the eyes.

"Ah shit, it's Supergirl!" the goon shrieked sounding like a little girl as he remembered the tales of how nasty she could get. He almost longed for the Bat.

"Where is Batman?"

"I don't know, Batmobile lost a wheel, Joker got away, oh please don't kill me," the goon begged her and he was dangled upside down.

"Losing my patience!" Kara yelled at the top her lungs.

It was not like she had much patience to begin with and Donna walked over.

"This should help," Donna told Kara as she held out a lasso. "I borrowed this from my sister."

"Borrowed?" Barbara asked in a surprised voice.

"Okay, I took it, although it's not as cool as her invisible jet," Donna remarked to Kara and the blonde raised an eyebrow.

"She has an invisible jet?" Kara asked in a surprised voice.

"Well, yeah, but I've never seen it," Donna said seriously but never the less, she held the lasso out. "Put this around him and he'll tell the truth."

Kara raised an eyebrow but shrugged as she allowed Donna to use this Lasso of Truth on him.

"Okay, where is Batman?"

"We set him up, he's got him!" the thug stammered in a horrified tone of voice.

Harry was this close to coming undone thanks to the lack of information. "Who has him?"

The thug's body was shaking in fear and Harry kept his eyes locked his eyes seeming to burn through the face of the thug. "Well either you tell me or you're going to get it beaten out of you."

The thug's expression went to one that was extremely wide eyed and he kept shivering. Especially when Kara cracked her knuckles and he knew that he could not fight the lasso.

"We don't know his real name but…he's called Scarecrow!" the thug shouted.

"Anything else you want to admit?"

"I gambled away my daughter's college fund," the thug commented as he shivered and Kara looked at him. The lasso tightened and the hold was on him to the point where some extremely taboo secrets was about to spill out of his mouth. "He's got the Bat, he paid us to set him up, him and the brat, he needed a strong test subject and hey….better the Bat then us, right, right?"

Harry was not going to dignify that with an answer as he and Kara focused their powers to try and figure out what to do next.

Batman had been here, like the thug had said, which proved that Diana's magic lasso did in fact work. That was good news but now they had to figure out what their next move was.

X-X-X

As it turned out, Batman was deep underneath Gotham City. He fell victim to the type of rookie mistake that he would have critiqued Robin or Batgirl for. The Dark Knight felt the ravages of protecting the city and was caught off guard.

The gang wars, the colorful criminals, and now he was captured by a group of dime store thugs.

He was behind a glass door and he started to pound on it.

"Finally put in Arkham, surrounded by the trash he created," a dark voice stated from the other side. "Bruce, old boy, I don't think that you've thought about the consequences when you put on that cowl. You tried to be a hero but deep down you know that you're mentally as twisted as the rest of the monsters in this city."

Batman's eyes glazed over, he felt the drugs course through his body and the more he tried to fight the inner demons, the more that they pushed back at him.

"Deep down you know it."

Batman shook his head.

"No….the mission is necessary."

Batman felt the lack of conviction as that statement escaped his lips and a laugh echoed which sounded hallow and very creepy.

"The mission is necessary," the voice mocked back at him. "You're trying to justify what you are and that's pathetic."

"No, not pathetic," Batman argued.

"You are pathetic," the voice mocked him. "All you are is a rich little boy with a trust fund in a playsuit that's still crying for Mommy and Daddy."

Batman wondered who was saying these things to him, no matter how hard he was trying to deny it they rang true to him, it was hard to deal with them. His head was full of rocks and his mind buzzed with frustration as he tried to push back up. There was a shadowed figure on the other side of the glass wall.

"No matter what, your mission is nothing but a way to justify your failures and it's a suicide mission," the dark brooding figure stated.

Batman saw something flicker and for a second he thought he was chained to the wall in a basement but then reality turned back to the dark figure.

His grip on reality, always tense even at the best of times, slipped back and forth. The Dark Knight tried to keep his mind calm and as steady as possible even though sanity was coming even more undone. His mind was already rather strained after seeing his parents shot in front of him when he was eight years old.

"Yes, your entire life is defined by tragedy, by misery, it's almost sickening, isn't it, isn't it?"

Batman turned his head around, he knew how people feared the unknown, that was why he dressed up like he did. The Dark Knight tried to push himself back up and slammed himself against the window to break through to the outside. The Dark Knight tried to break through again and again, and there was a loud and horrific laugh that taunted and echoed through his ears each time he tried to do so.

"It sucks that you don't have control, doesn't it?"

Batman was not going to dignify that with a response but as crude as that statement was, it was accurate. The unknown, which he used as a weapon, was being twisted around to hurt him. It was sadistic, twisted, inverted, and the Dark Knight did not know if he….he did not know if he'd be able to fight it.

"Just who are you?"

There was a loud and malicious laugh that caused a few goose bumps to appear on the arms of Batman as he tried to push himself out. The Dark Knight turned around and saw him.

"I'm your worst nightmare."

The Dark Knight tried to get himself back up to a standing position but he found himself unable to move. Once again, the basement flickered back into view but then a needle stabbed in his arm. His pupils dilated as he leaned forward panting in an attempt to catch his breath and frustration swam through his eyes.

"Don't you want to see me, Bruce?"

There was a thundering clash on the outside and the fluttering of Bat wings.

"Don't you want to face your fears?"

Batman looked up and saw the face of Bruce Wayne staring back out against him from the shadows, only his eyes looked sunken in and positively demonic. He placed his hands on the wall and looked at him with a smile, showing his surprisingly sharp teeth.

"You're not me," Batman growled as he pulled his hand back but he felt something flow through his body.

'_Stronger, stronger, I'm stronger, focus,' _he repeated in his head.

"I'm not you, but in another way, I am you, I'm very much you, the part that you hide from reality, the part where you refuse to acknowledge except when it's a mask that suits you," Bruce said with a thunderous laugh as he placed his hands on the edge of the wall and turned his head back. The Dark Knight looked at his demonic reflection. "Just admit it Bruce old boy, it's looking through a fun house mirror."

He turned over and several of the guards dragged Robin over, who was in chains.

"Let him go, he's done…."

"It's too late to save him from you," Bruce said fretfully as he stepped over towards the young man on the floor, a crazed look on his voice. "You drafted him, he's nothing but a soldier in your holy crusade, isn't he? Just another number in the mission, isn't he?"

Batman refused to answer and his heart thumped across his chest.

"He's a child," Batman managed.

"But you gave him the training to fight blood thirsty psychopaths, because you needed a moving shield to drag them out, a target," Bruce retorted as he stared back at Batman. "You sicken me."

The demonic shadow turned around as he flashed a grin on his face and he leaned against the wall, watching Batman for a reaction.

"Don't worry about him any more, I'm going to end his misery and yours."

Bruce stood over and had a spiked pair of brass knuckles on his face.

"Dick, we need to have a little talk about your future," the demonic Bruce Wayne stated as he licked his lips and held up the spiked knuckles.

"NO!"

"Bruce, we didn't raise you like this."

"I'm very disappointed with you."

"You pulled them all down with your crusade."

Batman saw another flicker of the basement but there were a group of muscled thugs who pinned him down.

"He's strong, that's good," the creepy voice stated from the shadows.

He paused and said.

"He'll be able to test how much the body can take of my drug before he truly succumbs to his worst fears."

He lifted one of his fingers which was a claw with a syringe that directly injected more of the fluids into his body.

"Maybe we should take off his mask, boss? You know, find out who he is?"

"Irrevalant, I wish to break Batman, not who is underneath the mask," the Scarecrow growled as he injected more of his delightful concoction into the Dark Night.

**To Be Continued.**


	7. Chapter 7: Fright Night Part Two

**Chapter Seven: Fright Night Part Two.**

It was an extremely calm night in Gotham City, almost too calm if one would be honest with themselves. The quartet of heroes made their way down from where they once stood high above the floor. Their informants had been extremely helpful in coughing up the necessary information that they needed.

"I don't like this," Harry remarked to them and Kara slowly turned around to face her husband. A chill wind blew and there was a sense of creepiness in the air. She was about to disagree just on sheer principle but just ended up nodding instead.

"I know," Kara told Harry as she stood completely rigid and took a look at everything below her with her X-Ray vision. She looked at every instance of the city streets beneath her with the blonde frowning as she bit down onto her lip and sighed.

There were a few shady deals going down in the city but she could not focus on that right now because that was not the reason why she was here. The blonde ran her fingers through her hair and continued looking downwards.

"Yeah, it's kind of….almost like we're waiting for the other shoe to drop," Barbara told them in a hushed voice and Kara nodded.

"For sure."

The blonde nervously bit down on her lip and shifted her body a little bit more. She listened for something, anything. She watched Donna drop down to take a closer look around. Tact was not something that was common for this particular Amazon.

"Door's unlocked," Donna whispered to them and there was a sense of nervousness that resounded through all of them.

"Of course, which means it's a trap," Barbara said as she reached into her belt and was ready to take out anything that moved along with what remained. The redhead crept over, determination in her mind.

"Keep moving," Harry whispered to the girls and they all kept moving forwards one step at a time. The green eyes of Harry Potter filled with the deepest intensity as he scoped out the room.

"Something in the valves," Kara whispered to them and the group grew rigid as Barbara turned towards her. She took an object from her belt and used it to scan the contents of the valves.

"It's some kind of toxin," Barbara told him and Harry offered her a slight smile as he watched the young girl who grew rigid. "Yeah….what did we get ourselves into anyway?"

"It's not just a toxin, it's something that can be inhaled and inflame our minds, making our worst fears come to life," Harry told her and Barbara shivered at the thought of it. The woman watched everything around her and was now completely nervous about what was happening.

"Damn, that's…."

"That's just the beginning," Harry told her and Barbara wondered what else could go wrong but Harry was only more than happy to tell her. "The nervous system shuts down, as does the heart, and everything just….well I'm sure you can imagine what the big problems are."

Barbara offered him a strained smile. "Yes, I'm imagining it right now."

She put on a streamlined gas mask which covered the exposed part of her cowl as she walked inside, with Harry, Donna, and Kara putting up bubble head spells. While they weren't sure if the gas could effect them, they weren't going to take any chances either. It was better off to be safe than sorry.

"Are we sure Batman's here?"

Harry heard that statement from Barbara and his eyebrow raised as he pondered it over in his mind. Slowly his eyes locked onto hers and she watched him with a nervous look in her eyes.

"I'm not sure but we've got to keep looking," Harry told the redheaded crimefighter and she nodded, a great knot forming in her stomach and her tension escalating to a heightened level. The shrunken heads hanging from the ceiling did not help with her nerves any, as they only added to the creepiness of the atmosphere.

"You children should turn back."

Kara's eyes flared with anger at the children crack and she was about to pound the person who said that into paste but Harry grabbed her arm to calm her down. The blonde let in a breath, held it for a moment, then let it out to keep her nerves calm even if it was hard to do so. The blonde looked up.

"Well if we're children, then we're children that are going to toast your backside!" Barbara yelled at whoever was speaking.

There was a crisp and cold laugh that could make the hairs stand up on the neck of anyone who heard it. "The typical response from a child but I can assure you that you will not be leaving here with your minds intact."

"Typical villain response, being melodramatic," Barbara commented dryly and Kara's face smiled.

The gas did not affect the quartet in the slightest at least not yet.

"If you want to find Batman, well you are rapidly running out of time," the sinister tones of the Scarecrow stated as his voice echoed for all to hear. "Come and find me, come and seek me, if you dare."

"Oh yes, we dare," Donna remarked but there was a set of criminals dressed in zombie outfits who walked forward.

At least Harry hoped that they were outfits.

"These are some of my early test subjects, they didn't respond too well to the toxins," the Scarecrow commented as he watched the quartet brace themselves for battle. "And now they're going to tear you to shreds."

Harry dodged the attack of one of them.

"So are these zombies?" Kara asked them as she punched one of them hard and his jaw became dislocated, hanging on by a few strands of tendon.

"Does it matter?" Donna asked as she used the lasso to take down one of the monsters.

Harry was not in the mood to deal with this and he twirled his hand. Fire shooting out to engulf the walking dead. Whether or not these abominations followed the same rules as Inferi, he had no idea, all he knew was that he was backing them off with the flames.

"Keep it up Harry!" Kara cheered as she used her heat vision to cause them to back off.

"They see fear," Scarecrow commented.

"Yeah, I hear you not shutting the fuck up," Barbara offered as they continued to fight and body parts went flying in a shower of gore.

They weren't alive anyway, so it didn't matter.

X-X-X

Scarecrow's grin was wide and scary underneath his mask, providing it was a mask. There was a lot of debate going on between the various members of his gang about whether or not it was a mask. None of them had the guts to ask because he scared the piss out of them.

"Subject is reacting nicely and more subjects will be coming."

The communication device that connected Scarecrow with his benefactor went off. He stepped forward briskly and with another motion, snatched it up into his hand.

"So, are the toxins working?"

"Yes, the test subject is allowing me to test the limits of what I can do with it, his will is strong."

"It should be, I want to see how strong the toxin can get before the subject breaks." the voice stated.

"Yes, Kingpin, of course," Scarecrow commented. The master of fear didn't like to admit it but there was something about the Kingpin that caused him to squirm a little bit with some fear of his own. His eyes flashed as he took a moment to collect his thoughts. "It will be done, the test subject, the lab rat, he's working fine."

The heartbeat monitor connected to Batman was blipping across the screen as he tried to push himself free but his hands thumped back against the wall. His eyes closed as there was another heart beat that resounded against his chest.

From his point of view, Batman saw the thugs surround him with clubs in their hands. He knew that he had to escape and he had to escape now. His demonic self was leading the charge.

Batman slammed his fist into the chest of one of the thugs and rammed him through the glass. The Dark Knight flipped over the top of the enemy's head and shot a grapnel out, wrapping around the feet of one of his adversaries. He kicked his leg out from underneath his leg and flipped up into the air, sending himself up high.

He slapped his palm down onto the face of his enemy, with the Dark Knight pushing forward.

He saw the flickers of the real world and did a forward roll as he rushed down the hallway. He felt his nervous system going wild and the Dark Knight Detective kept pushing himself further down the hallway. He heard the screams of his sidekick and his blood ran cold as he hastened his steps down the hallway, his knees feeling like cement as he tried to reach his young sidekick in time.

'_Hang on Robin!' _Batman managed to himself as his heart kept beating rapidly against his chest as he moved towards his destination despite the hallway getting longer and longer the further that he walked.

The tunnel that was the hallway seemed to be getting longer as the Dark Knight pushed himself closer to his destination. He tried to keep walking as he felt his knees shake and he nearly dropped down to the ground as he saw the grisly sight before him.

It was Robin, who was a beaten and bloody corpse. He was not moving at all, blood poured from his body and the Dark Knight kept walking towards him, nearly tripping over his feet in his haste to get to him. The Dark Knight dropped to one knee and tried to scoop up the downed Robin.

"Why, Bruce, why did you kill me?"

Robin's eyes were sunken in and destroyed. He turned towards Batman and suddenly pulled out a screwdriver before stabbing him in the shoulder.

"You killed me, just like you killed everyone!"

Robin stood over the downed figure of Batman, before he grabbed him and started to fling him against the walls.

"You're nothing, Bruce! Do you hear me? Nothing!"

Batman's eyes flickered and he saw an image of himself still chained to wall.

Scarecrow turned to his men as he held up another needle. He could sense Batman's strong will as he tried to return back to some level of coherence.

"This is excellent, he's fighting them, the toxins," Scarecrow told him and there was a creepy deep breathing coming beneath his mask as he twisted a syringe and made sure it was filled. "Time to give him more."

One of the thugs turned him and he got a mild attack of morality. "Boss….it could kill him."

Scarecrow's tone and next statement was as nasty as one might expect. "If you object, I may have to use the toxins on someone else, perhaps yourself."

The thug clammed up instantly with a slight whimper as his heart beat suddenly started beating rapidly within his chest. He was silent, perhaps eerily so. The thug knew what was on the line, it was his life and he knew better to complain about something like that.

"Or perhaps your young daughter, she'd be an excellent test subject."

"So, use the bat boss, what you got to lose?"

Scarecrow's smile widened as he injected Batman once again. "Absolutely nothing."

Batman's body seized up and there was a scream.

"What is he seeing in there?"

Scarecrow smiled wickedly as he prepared to allow his men in on the secret. "Horrors that you cannot even fathom."

There was no question about it, that was a statement that got their minds working in some fairly gruesome directions. The entire group shuddered and he tried to close his eyes, feeling the tight knot within his stomach.

"No, I don't think…."

The thugs wondered what could spook Batman. The thoughts of what could do the trick, well they didn't even want to fathom it.

The Scarecrow smiled, his test subjects, stronger than even Batman, were coming, and he could give his delicious toxin the workout it required. His eyes fixed maliciously on the approaching figures.

X-X-X

They made their way through one group of the gang. They were getting even closer to their destination and what they needed to do.

"I just thought of something….what if he's already infected us?"

That was an obvious statement of fear to have and Harry had already thought about it himself as well. He thought more about that than anything else. The fact was that this toxin could have been slipped into their systems so quickly that none of them would know it.

Yet there was some thought that echoed through his mind and he somehow thought that it could be impossible that he would get caught. Impossible, potentially, although it was not improbable, not at all.

"We're running out of time though."

Kara eyed her husband, and Donna looked at him as well. Barbara's gaze traveled towards them as she slowly spoke.

"So….that's….what do you mean we're running out of time?"

Harry smiled as he shook his head and he informed her of what he really meant. "I mean we're running out of time or Batman's running out of time. His nervous system won't be able to handle the toxins pumping through his body."

World's Greatest Detective Batman and in peak physical perfection he might be but he was still extremely human and still vulnerable to the pitfalls that came with being so.

And Harry had other problems with the attacks of the members of the gang. Harry sensed that these were not the zombified test subjects although it would still make thrashing them extremely pleasurable.

Donna was the one that jumped in, taking down one of the gang members with a fierce attack, wrapping her lasso around his ankles, tripping him up, and nailing an elbow to the back of the head to take him down.

"YEAH!"

Donna tripped up another enemy, nailing him two or three times. The dark haired Amazon kept pushing forward, slamming her fist into them.

Barbara gave her a half amused and half exasperated look. "Was that really necessary?"

Donna shrugged her shoulders as she responded. "Not really."

Donna snapped her lasso or rather Diana's lasso, around the feet of another enemy and yanking it towards herself hard caused him to go crashing face first into pavement. The dark haired Amazon pushed herself up and slammed her feet down onto the back of the head of her opponent with vicious fury.

"But it's fun."

Barbara dodged an attacks and threw a few smoke pellets on the ground. That allowed her to repel up to the ceiling and swing down.

Her feet connected to the top of the head of her enemy.

"Yeah, I can see that," Barbara offered as she saw a few large thugs try to grab her. She used her acrobatic abilities to jump over them. She kicked a set of boxes over and they toppled onto them. The thugs were buried underneath and Barbara swung back up into the rafters with a grin on her face.

"Stay focused!" Kara warned her as she used her heat vision to cause a set of paint cans to explode onto her enemies. Harry then wrapped them up with some rope and propelled the goons into the wall.

"Staying focused!" Barbara yelled as she matched Kara's tone. The blonde's eyes narrowed as they rested on her face and Barbara shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, you reminded me of him for an instant."

Kara was not sure if she was going to take that statement as a compliment or not. She opted to propel her enemy into the wall and smash her foot into his head knocking him out. The boot leaving an impression in his head.

"And he has a key card," Kara stated.

Sure she could smash the door open but it was always a victory when things were done in a sophisticated way. Of course, right now, she was looking for any excuse for action, after going stir crazy due to being benched because of a very high risk pregnancy and then recovering from said pregnancy.

Amanda was being watched by Karen now, because who else would Kara trust with her daughter than herself. She wanted to whip herself back into shape and despite the cardio that she did daily with Harry, what better way to keep alert and fit then beat up some of the vilest criminals in town.

"So, we need to get inside and we'll be home free," Barbara remarked but there was a certain unease in her voice that indicated she was lacking a fair amount of conviction.

The redhead's face was fixed with a surprised look.

"Yeah, not going to be that easy, is it?"

Kara sighed and she turned to Barbara with a slight smile. "Goes without saying."

"We'll find Batman below us I think," Harry told them and the girls turned towards him.

"Are you…"

Harry waved off that statement with a smile on his face. "Sure….well maybe your mileage will vary greatly on that one but I'm convinced that there's something that's behind this door."

He knew that they could be walking into the unknown, horrifying and malicious as that thought might be. The green eyes of Harry Potter flowed with the determination that was a core part of him. He made sure all of the thugs were secured.

It was time to take that step inside.

What did they have to lose?

That question was one that was best left unanswered for obvious reasons. He felt dread like he felt when he went up against the Dementors.

That was never a good omen.

X-X-X

A journey into fear was much like a journey into self awareness where the person on the other end tried to reconcile what was happening, even though fear itself was something that was hard to determine, decipher, any way you look at it. The quartet walked inside, keeping their wits about themselves, it was the only thing that they had to survive.

"Creepy," Barbara breathed as the group nodded. She had her hands on her gas mask to make sure it was secured. That was her greatest weapon against her enemies. The redhead pushed her hair back and offered a sigh.

Kara's eyes nervously watched her surroundings. She was careful to keep mindful of everything that was going on around her.

Donna looked around and heard the creeping and the creaking of the room around her. The Amazon was fearless, that's how she was trained. In fact, one might say that she was fearless to the extent where it was almost insane how fearless she was.

The dark haired Amazon turned her head around at the sound of creaking floorboards and pulled herself up on the wall. She saw Harry standing there and he had a calm look on his face. It was almost too calm to the fact where it kind of crept her out.

Speaking of creepy, a voice echoed through to them.

"Come forward, come forward, succumb to your fear, succumb to your deepest malicious horrors, succumb to the terror."

Harry had seen fear up close and he was able to keep himself focused and on target with the wizard making his way forward. He could sense the fear gas in the air but he gave himself a shake of his head to clear any thoughts that would cause him to experience fear. The young man stepped forward and he looked around.

"I sense your nervousness."

Harry once again remained silent, he was not going to allow this villain to throw him off. He had sensed true fear before with the Dementors and overcame it. The wizard placed his hands on the top of his head before he threw the doors open. Another step forward and there was a mist that surrounded them. He saw Kara grow rigid and the wizard grabbed the blonde around the hand.

The young wizard stood taller.

"Your smoke and mirrors act is nothing to me, nothing!" Harry yelled as he turned his head around and pushed himself forward. The young sorcerer kept walking into the distance.

"I sense your…."

Barbara dropped down from the rafters which she'd gone up into and knocked her way through the wall with a huge impact. The wall shattered around her as she took a deep breath in before slowly letting her breath out. The redhead offered a pained grimace as in hindsight, what she did was not the best idea in the world even with the armor she wore. The redhead's eyes moved up and down.

She checked her gas mask again as she saw skeletons on fire, walking around her.

'_Barbara, none of what your seeing is real, nothing!' _Harry yelled to the redhead through the mental link that he established.

Barbara smiled, she had fought fears numerous times, going against enemies that were three times her size at the very least. The redhead pushed herself back and reared a hand back to smash her enemy with all the force that she could.

The enemies scattered back and Barbara propelled herself up to the rafters again before she swung around to another section. The redhead dropped suddenly from the ceiling behind one of the thugs and jumping upwards she wrapped her arm around his before falling backwards to drive there face into the ground with a reverse ddt. Rolling back up to her feet the crime fighter ducked and dodged out of the way of any follow up.

"Come out!" Harry yelled to the person on the other end.

Scarecrow was there, Harry could sense it, the real question was, where was he in the mist? Harry had no idea and he kept pushing himself through the mist, it was thick, thicker than anything that he ever had to deal with. It was almost like this criminal sold his soul for some kind of super natural abilities over fear, a mastery that was beyond all chemicals.

The wizard pushed himself up and focused his X-Ray vision. He tried to find the flickering shadow which indicated the Scarecrow was there.

The emerald eyes of Harry Potter swam with fury as he pushed his hands back and then slammed them into the ground with a crack. He repeated the action and another crack rang out, he then blasted the floor which allowed him to drop down one level. Kara, Donna, and Barbara followed, landing down onto the ground.

"Okay, let's see how great your smoke and mirrors act is now!"

Scarecrow's face twisted in malice as he held up a staff and pointed to his men.

"Rip them to shreds," Scarecrow told his men as they rushed forward.

Kara dodged the attack of two of the enemies, not that they would hurt her. They flew head over heels into a stack of crates.

Donna used her sister's lasso to wrapped around neck of an enemy. She pulled him towards and then lifted him up onto her shoulders, muscling him up. With a twisting motion, she flipped him over onto his back.

Another one took a swing at her so Donna grabbed him from behind and locked a full nelson onto him then slammed him face first against the pipes on the wall.

Harry analyzed the toxins in the air, and he saw Scarecrow's face in the shadows, not to mention his real plan. His eyes flooded in horror and there was one word that popped into his mouth.

'_Oh shit,' _Harry thought to the three girls.

The toxins were going to be pumped out into the city and given that Gotham City were not the most stable of cities, this was bad.

Harry busted into the cell and saw Robin, who was screaming and yelling. His will power managed to keep himself mentally held together for better or for worse. The young crimefighter was not as strong as Batman and Harry could tell that he could be precious seconds from snapping. It was time for decisive action.

The anti-toxin Harry managed to conjure up, it was temporary as it could be, but it would cause him to return back to reality.

Robin blacked out from the stress of the toxins but Harry saw that his time was not up yet.

A thug tried to hit Harry around the back of the head but Harry knocked him out with an offhand backhand which caused him to hurtle backwards with a thunderous thud.

Barbara, Kara, Donna, and Harry got the boost of the anti-toxin. The Scarecrow stepped back, waving his hands and Harry grabbed him roughly around the wrist.

"Stand back," Scarecrow warned him.

Harry kept advancing on him, a smile crossing his face and Scarecrow raised his fingers.

"STAND BACK!"

Another warning but this one was shrugged off by Harry. He stepped towards his enemy and the Scarecrow tried to take him out.

Yet, the master of fear was stabbed upon his own needles. Impaled on his own sword and his pupils dilated as he threw his head back as the venoms pumped into his own body.

The horrors were something that he had not seen before and he fell down to the ground, as the demons of his own mind consumed his soul.

Harry gave Batman the anti-toxin and Scarecrow had a seizure on the ground as he overdosed on his own fear toxin.

X-X-X

"Impaled on his own sword and back to Arkham as he screams his throat raw in his sleep," Batman told Arcane as he stood there.

Harry smiled as he saw the World's Greatest Detective stand there. There was a sense of tension.

"Robin will be fine," Batman told him and Harry nodded. "He got captured on this mission and…."

There was a second where Batman trailed off, wondering if that demonic picture in his head was right, if he was putting others in danger because of his crusade. It was an unsettling thought that would not leave him any time soon.

It was a thought that haunted him as it echoed through the back of his mind.

He could see Arcane standing there, waiting for what he was going to say. There really was only one thing for him to say.

"Thank you."

That was technically two words but it was hard for some people to swallow their pride enough to say even that. The Dark Knight stood against the edge of the building and peered down at the city.

Everything was so close to becoming undone. That was the harsh reality of everything that he experienced in this mission.

It was so close to the end. One misstep and everything could come undone. He felt his mind, fragmented as it was, close to breaking.

"You should take some time off," Harry advised him and there was a moment where he got a true milestone, a true and blue Batman look. The response was quick and crisp as everything.

"So should you."

Harry smiled and nodded as he thought one thing.

'_Point well taken,' _Harry thought to himself but much like Batman, his mission never stopped, no matter what. The green eyes of Harry Potter swam with many emotions, far too many to name at any given time.

He flew over to join Kara where she was waiting on the ground for him.

"I don't like how Crane seemed to master fear so easily," Kara whispered to Harry as he showed up and wrapped his Alpha up in a tight hug and there was one statement that Harry could give her.

"I know, I don't like it either," Harry whispered in her ear.

There were so many different angles….well Harry was not going to even begin to think about all of the ways where things could go wrong. His eyes flashed for a second as they made their way off. Sure Batman had the anti-toxin but he would not forget what he saw. Harry saw flashes of horrors but he learned to block them out of his mind along time ago in his third year.

He tried to learn even more about Crane's work and how he experimented on those who were….well on those who could be weak willed. Their minds would be broken easy.

And it could have ended badly. Donna greeted them with a smile on her face as she sighed.

"Just another day at the office for two of our three main Heralds," Donna commented to them and Harry smiled at her.

"Something along those lines, yes," Harry agreed with a smile crossing his face, although it was one that amounted to a pained grimace.

He wondered what the game would bring next. His eyes were burning eyes narrowed as he sensed it in the air.

He'd be lying if goosebumps did not pop up onto his arms.

"I wish this was our ordinary day at the office," Kara commented in a tense voice.

"It's something else, though," Donna remarked and she waited for Harry to give an answer. She got the sense that he was trying to figure out what was happening and it caused her to become extremely tense because if Harry could not figure this out, then who could.

Harry paused before nodding his head slightly.

"Yes, something along those lines," Harry admitted to the dark haired Amazon princess and he grabbed her around the hand and pulled her in closer to him.

Harry wished that he could say with clarity that everything was going to turn out for the better but he knew better, oh boy did he ever know better?

The fact was that he had someone to check up on now after what happened. She was the most normal of them all, although perhaps normal would not be the best adjective to describe how she was. Still Harry felt that it was prudent to check up on her.

He knew where her apartment was, even though she slipped off into the night. Harry wondered if her father had put two and two together

He knew where her apartment was, even though she slipped off into the night. Harry wondered if her father had put two and two together yet.

X-X-X

Barbara sank down onto the couch in her apartment. Not being of the super powered sort, getting thrown around hurt her far more than it did the others. She favored her shoulder before she pushed her shoulders back with a deep sigh from within her body.

'_Well, that could have gone less painfully,' _she thought to herself.

She did wonder what someone who inspired fear like Batman had to fear and she imagined that it was something horrific. The redhead had to shudder at the thought of what Batman feared. It caused her skin to crawl.

"So, are you okay?"

Barbara turned around and nearly knocked her couch over she jumped up so fast. She saw Harry standing there in the shadows.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Harry told her with the famous Harry Potter grin on his face and that caused Barbara to roll her eyes.

"I swear, you get off on giving females heart failures," Barbara told him and Harry offered a faux innocent expression that she did not buy for a second. "So…."

"Just coming by to see if you're doing okay," Harry remarked.

"If you would have come too much later, I would have been in the bath," Barbara told him and Harry's smile grew.

"So, I got some really awful timing then, don't I?"

Barbara sighed and she saw that Harry was smiling. He enjoyed riling her up and she'd be a liar if she didn't enjoy getting riled up by him. Even though there was a stabbing pain that went through her shoulder as she sank down.

"Are you okay?"

Barbara winced, as she pealed off the top half of her costume. She was wearing a black bra that contained her nice sized breasts, about a D-Cup if she was honest with herself. She had a flat stomach and creamy flesh, which made the bruise and scratches on her more obvious.

"Yeah, I just dinged myself in the fight," Barbara told him and Harry smiled. "Not all of us are super invulnerable, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Harry told her with the smile crossing his face as he placed his hands on the back of her neck and started to rub her soreness away.

Barbara lifted her head up and wondered if he knew what he was doing to her. Then his hands furiously rubbed her and there was no question about it. He knew exactly what he was doing to her and the wizard's magical hands kept working her over.

It felt so fucking good. His hands worked their amazing magic into her skin as he rubbed out the knots in her shoulder. The redhead felt a fluttering go through her body and Harry skimmed her lower back, reaching down beneath the bottom half of the uniform.

"Let me know if you feel uncomfortable and I'll stop," Harry breathed in her ear and Barbara really wished that he would not do that.

"No, let's go all the way."

Realizing what she said Barbara froze but Harry kept working her costume off until she sat in nothing but her bra, and panties. Her eyes flooded with so much lust.

Harry could smell how much she wanted this and he skimmed his way down her body, brushing his fingers along the scratches. He healed them causing pleasurable jolts to flood through her body. He saw Barbara's hips subconsciously buck towards him.

Harry smiled as he kept feeling up her body under the pretext of healing her injuries. He saw her inhibitions disappear and Harry knew that he had her, it was only a matter of time before she gave into him and her baser instincts.

Barbara's mouth found his in an extremely hungry kiss, one which Harry returned eagerly as she gave it. He pulled her up onto his lap and she straddled him, kissing him with primal desire.

She was giving into her fog bound lust as Harry pushed his tongue underneath hers and she returned fire, pressing her breasts against him. She was going to work his shirt off over the top of his head, sending his extremely messy hair into further disarray.

The redhead pulled his pants down stripping them off, leaving him in nothing but a pair of boxers.

"I think I'm going to enjoy this," Barbara said saucily as she squeezed his package.

Harry returned the favor with a lustful smile of his own. "Believe me, the feeling's more than mutual.."

She was ready to give herself to him.

**Smut/Lemon Begins. **

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends.**

**To Be Continued.**


	8. Chapter 8: Unwinding

**Chapter Eight "Unwinding."**

It was the perfect completion to an interesting night to say the very least. Those were the thoughts that went through his mind as Harry rested in bed at Batgirl's apartment in Gotham City. He was surrounded by the three beauties as they all basked in the afterglow of what happened. Barbara rested with her head on his lap, Donna on the left side of him, her head resting on his shoulder and Kara was doing likewise on the right side of him. They had been at it for hours.

Barbara was the sorest of them all, being the only human of the group. She winced for a moment, feeling the results of Harry's efforts. She tried to sit up only to find out that her legs had the same consistence as jello at the moment. Apparently it was going be extremely difficult to get up and about after the hard fucking he gave her.

"Oh, I'm going to be feeling this one," Barbara remarked with a grimace and Kara offered her a knowing smile.

"Even I feel it sometimes," Kara offered Barbara as she snuggled her head into Harry's shoulder, the smile on her face wasn't going to leave it any time soon.

"Yeah, Harry is that magical," Donna remarked with a wistful sigh and Kara gave her an exasperated look which caused the young Amazon Princess to raise an eyebrow and offer her one innocent question. "What?"

"I can't believe you said that," Kara offered in an exasperated voice as she looked at her young friend and sister wife.

"You know it's true," Donna commented as she absentmindedly played with his hair. She half mused about the thought of taking Harry back to the island to conquer some more bitches there because they needed some stress relief. She smiled at the thought of those uptight bitches being taken in hand or rather up the ass but she supposed the right opportunity had yet to present itself. "Oh, Har-Rell your so amazing,"

Donna remarked this to him as she straddled his chest playfully, her still naked body draping over him, her breasts practically right up in his face.

Barbara raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She agreed with the thought that Harry was amazing, maybe a bit too amazing as the soreness between her thighs indicated. Still she would be a lot worse off if she was not in such good shape, so there was that. She definitely felt the burn from what Harry did to her.

"Oh, I'm going to be feeling this one for a long time," Barbara mused but Kara slid down and stroked her hair. She felt herself tingle as the blonde went closer to her ear.

"Maybe," Kara breathed hungrily in her ear which caused Barbara to almost become undone. "But you won't regret what you feel."

Barbara had to agree with that, she was not regretting what she felt and given that this was her first time with a real penis inside her body, and that felt so amazing. She wanted to feel that sensation between her thighs again and again.

She offered a wistful sight at the thought.

"And you're thinking about it right now," Kara commented as she playfully skimmed her fingers down towards the area beneath her thighs and felt the pulsing heat rise between her thighs. "Oh, you're really thinking about it now."

Barbara offered a smile to her, smug as it could be. "Yeah, I feel it, I really feeling it."

"Mmm, I thought you might," Kara commented as she stroked Barbara's thighs but she did not go any further than that point. The redhead was trying to keep her head above the water but it was difficult to do so.

"Kara," Harry admonished.

Kara offered him a bright smile, innocent, even though it was a faux amount of innocence. The blond raised an eyebrow towards him and Harry shook his head as he pulled her towards him. She nudged Donna out of the way and Kara then straddled his chest.

She kissed him hungrily, her tongue wrapping around his as the two of them worked together with each other. Donna and Barbara watched them, waiting for their turn and there was a sensation that the two young lovers pushed off a lot in each other.

'_You're beautiful,' _Harry told Kara as she smiled and kept kissing him. He ran his hands all over her mature body, feeling every inch of it, her curves were more delicious after giving birth, the true definition of a MILF and Harry ran his hands over her body enjoying everything she had for him.

'_You're not too bad yourself,' _Kara commented as she ran her hands down across her lover's hair and she saw the two girls at the edge of the bed.

'_I think they're choking for it,' _Harry remarked and there was a second where Kara laughed although she stifled it by deepening the kiss.

'_Good, keep them choking,' _Kara commented as Harry kept kissing her as the two of them worked together.

'_You two are evil,' _Karen commented, she felt a heat rise from her as part of the backwash from the bond and she was not the only one.

'_Thanks, we do the best that we can,' _Harry offered them smugly as he continued to kiss Kara and tease her body. They put bursts of magic through the air, with the two of them making the two at the edge of the bed hunger and lust for them even more.

Donna watched them as she felt a shudder go through her body. She was feeling hunger, sexual hunger, that needed to be sated, or there would be consequences. She tried not to allow her hand to go down beneath her thighs. The dark haired woman tried not to give into her greater impulses, although it was hard.

She caught eyes with Barbara and noticed that she was feeling the same thing. Kara and Harry, they knew what they were doing. The evil looks in their eyes betrayed that.

"You two evil adults trying to seduce us young people," Donna remarked as she shook her head.

Kara grabbed Donna by the shoulders as she pulled her back onto the bed and gave her an extremely hungry kiss to the face. The dark haired woman was pushed back onto the bed as she kept kissing her.

Harry grabbed Barbara and did likewise.

They were going to be in with one more round with each other, until it was time for Kara and Harry to return to Metropolis.

X-X-X

"Back home again."

Kara smiled as she showed up at their home to greet Karen. In the next room, Harry and Kara walked over and saw Amanda asleep in the cradle. They watched her as she breathed peacefully in her sleep seemingly without a care in the world.

"She wasn't any trouble at all," Karen told her.

"Well of course, she's only trouble for her parents," Harry commented with a smirk and Kara shook her head in exasperation but she placed her hand in her husband's never the less, squeezing it. "But still…."

"Yeah, I hear you," Karen remarked as she turned around. Amanda was going to be the closest thing that she was going to have to a child of her own, so she doted on her. She stepped over towards her, to make sure that her blanket was properly wrapped over her.

A single tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at the sleeping child, her blonde falling hair over her face.

She turned around and saw Harry standing there. Karen watched him and she shook her head before Harry could ask the question.

"Harry, I'm fine, trust me, I'm fine, really fine," Karen commented with a forced smile crossing her face.

"Are you sure?"

There was no words that Karen could give, with the blonde pushing herself back against the wall. Harry guided her across the room and they walked down the hallway side by side.

"I know what you're thinking," Harry whispered in her ear as he placed his arms around her waist, going underneath her large breasts. Karen sighed as she turned her head around and looked in Harry's eyes before she said something.

"Am I really that transparent?" Karen asked him and Harry wrapped his arms tightly around her. The woman pushed back and Harry freed one of his hands to run it down her short blonde hair.

"Yeah, just a little bit," Harry remarked as he ran his other hand down her curved body. "Don't worry, things will work out in the end."

Harry ever since he found out about Karen's plight, he had been trying to find a way to cure her ailment. He wished that he could make it work out, yet much to his frustration, there was nothing he could do. It seemed like Lionel Luthor had given her a going over and that made him want to kill the alternate version of Lionel even more than the original, although there was something that told him that version Lionel might already be dead.

He wished that he could be more successful than he was but that's just the way things went. He put his arms around her and ran hands down her.

"I hope you can but it might be beyond your capabilities," Karen told him and Harry pushed her against the wall, finding her lips in a searing kiss. The two of them enjoyed the hungry kiss between each other.

Karen knew that her husband would never stop trying and the two of them broke apart. They saw Claire standing in the hallway, walking to the kitchen to get a drink of water.

"Continue, I'm just passing through," Claire said with a tense edge to her voice as she stepped down the hallway.

The redhead sighed as she made her way forward. She hoped that her father got every single woman in the world and then more, because he deserved it. If there was a woman in the world that didn't like him, well there must be something wrong with them.

'_Three more years until I turn eighteen,' _Claire reminded herself with a smile. She was looking forward to adulthood as her childhood, well it was not the fluffiest time in the world for her. She shook her head and smiled wider as cleared her thoughts going off to get her drink of water.

Karen smiled as she thought about everything that happened. She was so bitter after she escaped that world but thanks to Harry and Kara, she managed to be healed. Well for the most part, there were still more than a few scars.

"I think that things will work out in the end," Kara remarked to Karen and the older blonde turned around to face her.

"I sure hope so, I really hope so," Karen said. It was something that was hard to reconcile in the back of her mind. The blonde kept herself steady as she thought about it. "So you two have had a productive last couple of days."

Kara smiled as she offered an amending statement to Karen. "Well to be fair, it was more Harry than me."

Karen shrugged as she waved off that statement. "My point still stands."

That was true, Harry got Maxima, who obviously would be coming back for more now that she got a taste. The same thing for Barda, who was going to be valuable help in searching for Darkseid and his schemes, although there was this sense of a calm before the storm regarding him.

That was one of the worst things as far as Harry was concerned, playing that waiting game.

"Our group grows and it will continue to grow," Harry said as he smiled.

"Strength in numbers and all that."

Alex turned up at the house and Harry greeted his "sister" with a smile

"Glad to see you again, Alex," Harry said as he pulled her into a hug but she went the extra step and kissed him hard on the lips.

Harry returned the favor as the two of them pushed their tongues against each other.

"Just getting back from my group," Alex commented to him and she smiled. She thought about loaning a few of her girls to Harry for special occasions.

It was just a thought but she had business to go through just like everything else. Alex watched Harry and asked him the question that was on her mind.

"So how is it coming along?" Alex asked her. "I know Clara's helping to make sure everyone's settled in but I want to hear it from you."

"Everyone's doing well, Lara and Alura assured me that it's fine," Harry offered Alex and she nodded. "It's about up and running, although they've been hanging out on Paradise until it's ready."

Alex offered him a teasing smile. "Sounds like a real party."

Harry returned fire with one of his own. "It really is."

There was a lot to do.

X-X-X

Harrison was not ignorant of the events taking place in Gotham City, although one would be a fool to consider him ignorant in any definition of the word. He saw everything that went on around him and his eyes took careful notes.

_'No clown in a costume should have that kind of control,' _Harrison stated as he watched the telecast. Scarecrow made his way off to Arkham babbling like an incoherent. Harrison could not say that he felt sorry for him in the slightest.

'_Now what?' _Harrison thought

He placed his hands on the papers in front of him. He needed to make sure any loop hole were tightened up so the transition of LuthorCorp into his hands continued to go smoothly. The fact of the matter was that Harrison was grateful for Tess and his alternate counterpart, because they cured a lot of ills left behind from Lex and Lionel. That made his life a lot easier and the transition a lot smoother.

"We've got the air samples from Gotham, Harrison."

Fury stood in the doorway and Harrison took them. There were things in them that were strange, things that could not be explained by any kind of conventional science whatsoever.

Harrison watched everything in front of him as his finger brushed over the analysis.

"Anything?"

Harrison pondered as he looked over it, he was seeing a lot of red flags that caused alarms to go off in his head. He knew that there was going to be something dark in this universe.

He would control the darkness or flatten it.

He saw all of the people in the paper talk about all that he's done. Even in the Daily Planet, there was some grudging respect that was being pushed his way. He was going to take it because forcing what could be his harshest critics to eat their words, that was a huge victory.

"There's something brewing," Harrison commented in a crisp and cool voice.

Ultrawoman showed up beside them and she raised an eyebrow. Harrison grabbed the woman around the waist and pulled her in. Fury slipped in next to her.

"Something happening, my lord?" Ultrawoman asked him.

"Yes, there's something, I cannot explain it, at least not without more information," Harrison told them and the girls nodded, they understood where he was coming from. He needed information and there was a few seconds where he pondered everything.

They knew better than to ask Harrison when he had such a serious expression on his face. He was completely calm even though they could tell that he was going over several matters in his mind.

"Keep your eyes open," Harrison told both girls. "I don't like this and if it's something that effects my business, then we need to shut it down."

That much was for sure and the two girls watched Harrison leave. They need no further orders because they understood everything that they needed to do.

Harrison spun around on his heel and made his way down one level. The employees there had little interest in the management changes and what caused them to take place. All they cared about was the fact that they were getting paid. Greed burned within their hearts and minds so Harrison would exploit that to get the job done until he could replace them with people who were a lot easier on his eyes, the fact some of his staff was male irritated the hell out of him.

"Mr. Luthor, good evening," Gwen said breathlessly.

"Hey, Gwen, you look like your dead on your feet," Harrison commented as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

Gwen shivered a little bit and Harrison turned his hands around on her shoulders.

"Well, you know me, I'm working hard on everything!" Gwen said excitedly and Harrison smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Yes, I noticed and you're fitting in quite nicely," Harrison murmured in a breathy voice into her ear and that caused Gwen to falter a little bit, a shiver running up her spine which cause her to arch back into him just a bit.

Gwen tried to keep head above the water and her mind focused completely on business. The blonde shook her head to clear it as Harrison ran his fingers through the side of her hair. There was a few seconds where she paused as he looked into her eyes.

"Is there anything that I can do for you?" Harrison asked her and Gwen paused as she turned around to face him fully.

"Nothing, right now," Gwen remarked as she felt some strong urges but she was forcing herself to keep her head on straight and tried to keep her thoughts to those of a professional manner and not of the taboo variety.

"Well, if you're sure, you know where my office is, it's always open if you need any help," Harrison commented to Gwen as he ran his hands through her hair on the right side of her head playing with it slightly.

Gwen shook her head and smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind," Gwen commented as she envisioned him pinning her against the wall and having his way with her. He looked so strong, so amazing.

Harrison smiled, he caught the images currently going through her mind as he ran his fingers over the papers in his hands. He would allow the anticipation build until she had no choice but to succumb to the passion brewing within her.

There was a good reason why he hired her as an intern, she would be a valuable asset, her intelligence was something that would match others that might pose a challenge to him.

"I'll get back to work," Gwen said hastily.

"Take the rest of the night off, you've deserve it," Harrison remarked to her and he handed Gwen an envelope. "And if you want to meet me in a few days outside the office, I have a couple of projects to discuss with you."

Gwen nodded as she turned around and shook his hand.

"Thank you sir," Gwen said in a gracious voice trying not to look in his eyes.

She would be calling him "sir" with a different tone if Harrison got his way and judging by the thought in her mind, it just might happen sooner rather than later.

Harrison turned around and waited, now it was time to meet someone who was less easy on the eyes, Wilson Fisk. His arrival was concerning.

X-X-X

"A big bite has been taken out of the VRA and I can't believe I'm saying this but we have Harrison Luthor of all people to thank."

Harry was addressing the female members of the Justice League. Courtney, Diana, Zatanna, and Shayera all stood waiting for his next words.

Courtney placed her hands on her hips and sighed. "I wonder what his game is."

Shayera raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're not the only one but I….actually you should know better than anyone else, shouldn't you?"

Harry looked at her thoughtfully, the ball back into his court now. He was trying to ponder over the situation and he couldn't help but offer thoughtfully. "You know, I think that the act gives him as many headaches as it does me."

Shayera pondered that fact but before she could say anything Diana chimed in with some words of her own. "That does make a lot of sense."

Diana wondered why anyone thought that this act was a good idea. She was at a loss for words. It was like they were trying to implement the VRA as a way of making themselves seem important.

"Yeah but that means that he's up to something," Harry offered them and he knew that since he was thinking like himself, well that would give anyone else out there a headache to say the very least. He had to try and figure something out, anything out, because otherwise he was stuck. "It's that waiting game that I know we all hate playing."

Shayera clutched her hands around the handle of her mace. She was ready for action and she pushed her red hair from her face as she thought about the situation. "He's just….."

"This isn't a battle where we can take the fight to him, no matter how enticing that might seem. He's extremely good at covering his tracks and so far everything he's done, including take LuthorCorp over, has been completely legal," Harry told her and there was a nod of agreement from the other girls.

Zatanna, who had be silent up until this point felt compelled to speak up. "Yeah, it's a no win situation, isn't it?"

"Pretty much, yes, Zee," Harry agreed, letting out a long sigh as he did so.

He had done nothing overtly illegal and actually taking control of LuthorCorp like he did, might have been a blessing in disguise in many ways. It allowed Harry to focus on other things. Naturally Tess wasn't happy about it but that was just the way things went.

"Godfrey's been muzzled for now," Courtney said and there was a smile that crossed her face. "And the airwaves are much more peaceful due to that fact."

Harry thought about this. On the one hand, Godfrey was merely one man. On the other hand, he was one of the most vocal supporters for the VRA who before being muzzled had a national audience in the millions. On the other hand, he had a funny feeling that this was not over, not yet, not by a long shot.

"And everything's been quiet," Diana said and Harry gave her a visual warning not to complete the other half of that statement.

Kara, on the other hand, had no qualms about the statement. _'It's been a bit too quiet.'_

'_And now you just jinxed us,' _Chloe thought to Kara.

'_It's what I do,' _Kara bantered back through the bond link.

'_Ladies,' _Harry thought to them with a smile.

Barda turned up next and greeted Harry with a crushing hug and a long kiss.

"Well, I checked out the lead that we thought that we had," Barda told Harry and he nodded. "It's nothing but a dead end."

Courtney could not help but chime in with her two cents. "The greatest enemy for a hero."

"We'll get it," Diana offered them and there was a second where she paused. "We have to get it."

"We will get it," Harry commented to her as he grabbed her hand tightly then pulled her into a tight embrace.

Barda hoped that their optimism was not misplaced although it would serve them well, to an extent, against Darkseid. Given that he feasted off of the hopelessness of people, any hope was necessary and extremely vital to their survival.

"I hope that we can find her before it's too late," Barda offered in a voice that hinted that when she found Granny Goodness, she was going to tear her to shreds. And given all that happened to her at the whim of that twisted banshee, Harry could not blame her in the slightest.

It was a never ending cycle of trying to get everything done and he was right in the middle of it. Harry knew that by leading the Justice League, they could become the force that was needed to take down Darkseid.

There was another meeting about the VRA, naturally they weren't going to give up right yet. Some people in the government might in fact be too stupid to live. Then again, the more things change, the more things stay the same.

'_Hey, guys, there's a group of super powered thugs out in Metropolis,' _Iris stated over the communicator. _'I could really use back up, these guys are packing weapons.'_

Diana smiled, at last some action.

"Right, Wonder Woman, Stargirl, Hawkgirl, and Zatanna, you go and see what that's all about, back up Flash," Chloe remarked to them. "Arcane do you want to…."

"No, I think the ladies have it handled," Harry commented as he sat back.

"Wait, you're actually sitting this one out?" Shayera asked in surprise.

"More people for you to smack around," Harry told her and she raised an eyebrow before letting out a whistle.

"Point well taken," Shayera offered with a smile as she prepared to go back in battle.

"Not if I can get to them first," Barda offered to her with a smile.

"We'll see, we'll see," Shayera offered her as the two of them walked forward.

'_Ah the spirit of competitive warrior women,' _Chloe commented in a wistful voice as Harry smiled.

X-X-X

Being a business woman, sleepless nights were not necessarily as big as a handicap as one would think. Yet, Tess shook her head as she experienced several nights that kept her mind rattled. The redhead pushed her hair back out of her face and closed her eyes tightly.

She shook off the first nightmare at a sign of stress at losing the company that her and Harry rebuilt after Lex and Lionel nearly ran it into the ground because of their mutual obsessions. Going through the books was a nightmare to end all nightmares. The redhead placed her hands on the desk in front of her and she shifted herself through the thoughts.

It all started in an Orphanage from when she was extremely young. She saw memories flash through her mind, and there was only one face that she could make out with picture perfect clarity. It was the face of Lionel Luthor.

Why was she seeing his face of all faces? Tess honestly had no answers to that question and that was something that spooked her and rattled her mind.

None of this was making sense and given all of the things that she experienced, something like this not making sense, well that fact was really spooky. The redhead ran her fingers through her hair in frustration and offered a lengthy sigh.

If someone had an explanation, she would love to hear it.

She flashed back to something that Harrison told her when they met. At first, Tess chalked it up to being mind games, as if it was a carefully calculated opening move in a game of chess. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing other than that.

Now Tess was rolling it over alongside other thoughts in her mind and there was a name that stood out in her dreams. Or rather she saw a blurred image of it in her mind. She was starting to lose her head and starting to think that it was not the only thing that she'd lost.

'_Explanations, I wish that I had them,' _Tess thought, she was half torn between desperation and exasperation. Actually if she was exasperated, she would be able to reign herself in, calm herself down.

She decided to ask the one person that she knew might have answers.

'_Tess,' _Harry thought, responding to her mental probe.

'_Harry, I know this might be a bad time,' _Tess thought to him.

'_No, Tess, it's not a bad time,' _Harry told her in a reassuring voice. _'Tell me, what's on your mind?"_

Tess, daringly, took the plunge and began to speak. _'I've been having a nightmare….yeah I know this sounds stupid.'_

'_No, not stupid, dreams and nightmares often try and tell us something very vital,' _Harry encouraged her.

'_Right, I guess they might,' _Tess offered to him as she placed her hand on the side of her face and there was a moment where she paused and she turned her head around with a long sigh resounding through her voice. _'But this one, I'm not going to lie, I'm confused.'_

'_Well the theater of the mind can be pretty confusing,' _Harry told her and he wanted to give Tess some information. _'I know details might be fleeting, so tell me as much as you can.'_

'_Right, as much, got you,' _Tess said as she tried to collect her thoughts._ 'It all starts with me being left at an orphanage.'_

Harry's interest heightened immediately. _'Do you know the name of the orphanage?' _

'_Sorry, I can't make it out,' _Tess offered to him and she felt a foggy thumping go through the back of her head. '_I see this woman, kindly, grey haired, but there's something sinister about her. The other girls trust her, even worship her to an extent, but I don't trust her. There's this music, it's soothing but at the same time, creepy.'_

'_It might not be a nightmare as much as a repressed memory,' _Harry informed her and this statement was met with a mental sigh. _'Anything else?'_

'_There's Lionel Luthor,' _Tess offered him and there was a second where Harry went so silent that Tess thought that there was something wrong with the bond link. _'Harry?'_

'_Yes, I'm still here,' _Harry told her in a quiet voice as he waited for her to say even more.

'_It just sounds like you left me for a little bit,' _Tess remarked to him.

'_No, I'm just trying to figure out if it's the puzzle piece that we might need to verify the truth,' _Harry said slowly.

That statement was pretty cryptic and Tess wanted to find her way around it. The puzzle pieces were falling together in her mind.

'_Never thought I was…..are you….trying to imply what I think that you're implying?' _Tess asked him and there was a few seconds where Harry paused. _'You are implying what I think that you're trying to imply.'_

'_It depends on what….it could be completely off base,' _Harry remarked to her.

Tess paused for a second, wondering, questioning but she thought that none of that mattered. Except for the fact that she needed closure on that chapter of her life.

'_So….that's a revelation, providing that it isn't a sign that I could be reading too much into this,' _Tess said. She was still hanging onto the hope that Harrison's words were just a carefully orchestrated gambit to make her paranoid.

Although Tess shook her head and wondered "what if…."

'_So….while I'm here, is it ready?' _Tess asked.

'_Yes, it is,' _Lara chimed in, hijacking the call.

'_Oh that's good,' _Harry remarked to them. _'I'm sure that they'll be ready to go to their new home.'_

'_Not to mention the new and improved Fortress, one hundred percent Jor-El free,' _Lara concluded cheerfully.

Alura piped in on the call. _'Guaranteed or you'll get your money back.'_

Harry chuckled. _'I'll be there in a little bit.' _

X-X-X

Harry, Kara, and Karen arrived at the edge of the Arctic, where there was a huge block of ice that was ahead of them. Laura and Thara brought up the heels as the group looked around, wide eyed expressions on their faces. There was a long pause before the group floated forwards.

"Amazing," Thara said.

Laura rolled her eyes. "You hadn't seen anything yet."

"Well that's just Thara being confident," Kara commented as she smiled and stepped forward. She wanted to see New Krypton in all of its glory.

She, Laura, Karen, and Harry put their hands up and pressed them to the edge of the block.

There was a blinding flash of light that engulfed the group. The quartet stepped into the light and was sucked into an area of the Arctic that transcended time and space.

The group kept their heads up and had smiles on their faces as they appeared on the other side of the portal.

They first thing that greeted them were large crystal towers that seemingly shot up for miles. It was an amazing sight and Harry, Kara, Karen, and Laura took in the structure. It was like a little piece of Krypton replicated although more effort and care had been put into it than Jor-El's efforts.

There was an ice palace in the center, tall but despite the fact that it was in the Arctic, it felt extremely warm.

Harry looked up and saw a statue of his likeness. There was a surprised look that went over his face. He looked up and down the statue as Kara and Karen looked amused at his expression. It was a pretty good likeness all things considered.

"I hope you approve, Har-Rell."

He saw Raya waiting around there. Lara had kept a close eye on her for obvious reasons. The blonde smiled at him as she brushed her hair back out of her face.

.

"It's amazing," Harry offered to her and she smiled as she stole a quick kiss.

"I'm glad," Faora said as she stepped back and allowed the group to make their way into the palace.

He saw Raya walking around there. Lara had kept a close eye on her for obvious reasons with the blonde pushing her hair back out of her face.

"Har," Lara commented as she greeted him with a hug and Harry smiled as he felt her breasts press against his chest. It was a nice moment as Harry ran his hands over her buttocks as she continued to kiss him.

Alura stood behind them, clearing her throat and Harry slowly turned around to face her.

"Don't you dare forgot about me," Alura stated to him and Harry wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Don't think that you would let me," Harry commented as she kissed him hungrily. Her lips pressed against his and the two of them exchanged an extremely hungry kiss.

Alura broke apart with a lustful grin crossing her face.

"Come on, it's time to give you the guided tour of this place," Alura told him and Harry was not going to say no. He allowed the hot blonde woman to lead the way.

"Jor-El had a few good ideas," Lara admitted to them as she followed alongside before sighing. 'We do have a treasure trove of data underneath our fingertips."

"Yes, I know," Harry offered to Lara as he held her into a one armed hug and pressed his lips quickly against hers in a kiss.

The two of them made their way back and Lara grinned as she looked over her shoulder.

"Now that the merger is completed, I think that we got the best part of both of you," Lara whispered into his ear as she moved Harry back into the bed chambers. "Naturally, though I want to make sure that you're in sound body and they're not any complications."

Lara smiled as she slowly worked the material off of her body.

"And as a licensed medical professional, you'll find that I'm more than qualified to give you the proper examination," Lara told him with a hungry gaze.

Harry watched the material slide off her body, slowly, and sensually. He watched her, drinking in the tightness, the deliciousness of her body.

Lara stood before him in an all too small nurse's outfit. She wore a tight white blouse that wrapped around her body that nearly busted out of her top. Her breasts were about to bust out of the top. The skirt was short, short enough that Harry could see a hint of her womanhood and see that she was not wearing anything underneath. She wore stockings that clung to her delicious legs and also she wore high heel shoes but she kicked them off.

Harry saw her beautiful body and she bent over as if to check something. He saw her ass cheeks beckon him and then she slowly turned around.

"Harry, it's time to test your reflexes," Lara remarked as she stepped forward and dropped to one knee. She saw the bulge in his pants and smiled as she grabbed his crotch and squeezed it through his pants.

The games were about to being and she looked forward to them.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends. **

**To Be Continued. **


	9. Chapter 9: Backstage Pass

**Chapter Nine: Backstage Pass. **

"OH MY GOD, THIS IS GOING TO BE SO EXCITING!"

This was the very excited statement given by one Claire Potter, whilst Harry, Kara, Chloe, and Laura looked on in amusement.

"Yes, my ear drums got that the first time," Chloe stated as she rubbed the side of her ear and Harry smiled at her.

"If you want me to kiss it and make it feel better, I can?" Harry asked her in a teasing voice and Chloe's smile was extremely wide as she focused her gaze upon Harry. "Just say the word and you know…."

"No, I'm good, for now," Chloe admitted but she was bemused that anyone could get excited for anything, especially a concert like this. Then again, the tickets had been sold out for some time but Harry was able to do it to take Claire to it, as an early birthday present for her sweet sixteen. There was a smile on Harry's face as he looked at Chloe, a teasing glint dancing within his expressive emerald orbs.

"If you change your mind, just know that offer doesn't expire," Harry told his wife and Chloe smiled as she watched him.

"Well this should be interesting," Kara remarked as she shook her head. She never was much of a fan of pop music but she had to grudgingly admit that this one was something special. Not to mention the fact that Laura and Claire were big fans, so it would make for a fun outing for them.

"Bedazzled is going to sweep the nation and the world, mark my words," Claire commented as she bounced up and down on her heels in excitement.

"Yeah, Claire, I've marked them, numerous times," Harry told his oldest with a smile and she turned to face him with a beaming grin.

"Good, you better have," Claire said to Harry as they made their way out of the doors of the Shining Light Foundation. "And you know that I've passed all of my classes, top marks too."

"And that's great," Kara said as she pulled her oldest into a one armed hug which Claire smiled at. The twenty year old Kryptonian leaned back as she reflected everything that occurred recently.

"I'm looking forward to this concert myself," Harry told the group and Chloe raised an eyebrow, a curious expression filling her face as she wondered why Harry was looking forward to this concert. However, Harry was all too happy to fill the entire group in. "Godfrey can't stand Alison Blaire, he was really ripping on her brand of music, saying how it promotes people to do illegal activities like dress up and be vigilantes."

Chloe shook her head in irritation. "Yeah, that's all we need, him to incite a bunch of people, like those kooks who backmask Beetles records so they can try and find subliminal messages."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, people like that, people like that….well…."

Claire chimed in happily with her two cents. "Some people need a life."

Harry was not sure if he'd completely put it that way but he would be inclined to agree as well. Godfrey was mostly muzzled as of late although he seemed to be pushing the envelope as much as he could be allowed with more subtle jabs against Vigilantes. Of course, subtle did not work considering the type of person who listened to his show regularly, they were the type who needed to be spoonfed their criticism for it to even stick.

Of course, Harry was trying to keep an eye on Harrison and see what he was doing but so far, he was simply sponsoring the reconstruction of Metropolis and any other cities that had been affected by Zod and his men. He'd also challenged the government to do something about the problems that lead to there even being a need for vigilantes by creating a solution instead of posting a frivolous law that would only do more harm than good and waste the money of the taxpayers. To top it off he'd also made several extremely charitable donations to several hospitals and orphanages.

Harry hated to admit it, but his alternate self did have a lot of good points. That these points continued to cause a lot of people within his collective frustration more often than not. Meant he wasn't able to say that he agreed out loud around Karen or Tess without causing a great deal of friction, considering how they weren't too happy with Harrison for obvious reasons.

The looming darkness ate up a lot of Harry's time.

'_Be alert, I've got a feeling that something's up,' _Kara thought to Harry and he paused before grabbing his Alpha wife by the arm.

'_And….yeah I feel it too,' _Harry admitted as he felt his stomach twist in apprehension. He had no idea what was coming but it was causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up on end.

'_Enjoy your night,' _Alex thought to them. _'I'm staking out something, Clara and I are anyway, it could be something to do with Darkseid or it could be another run of the mill undesirable.'_

Harry was about to protest but Alex cut him off, she knew this argument because quite frankly she was him and she knew it all.

'_Harry enjoy the time that you have off, I'm sure the world won't fall to pieces if the great Harry Potter is not there for one night, just sit back and chill,' _Alex thought to him and Harry paused for a second and conceded. _'See, you know I'm right.'_

'_No, I just really detest arguing with myself,' _Harry commented mentally to her through the bond link.

'_You do realize that makes you sound kind of crazy,' _Alex commented and she paused. _'Just a little bit.'_

Harry mentally sighed as he made his way forward with the group. It was a madhouse, filled with some of the most horrific creatures to mankind, that being fan girls.

He resolved to keep his mind off of everything, at least for one night, try to sit back and enjoy his evening. Even though it was kind of hard to do so, Harry was going to try the best that he could.

He figured with everything that happened lately that there was nothing he could lose if he stepped back and relaxed.

Little did he know that the night was about to take a turn for the weird, and that was saying something given some of these misfits that posed as fans.

X-X-X

"You're on in five minutes, Dazzler baby."

Alison Blaire nodded as she sat backstage but there was something that was eating her up inside. There was a part of her that was living a lie. The blonde ran her fingers through the back of hair as she sighed.

The life that she was living was not the one that she remembered. In fact, six weeks ago, she disappeared in a flash of light and ended up here. And even as she learned the reasoning behind her sudden arrival, she was still completely and utterly baffled as to why she turned up here.

It was a mystery wrapped inside a question or however that saying went. She had about the same number of fans, some great ones, some that caused her skin to crawl. Not to mention the management of the record company, well they were sleazy as hell.

The death threats that rolled in recently after Godfrey started slamming her….well they weren't pleasant. The key thing in show business was that the show must really go on and the young pop star figured that out more and more with each passing day.

"Three minute warning."

That was the key to show business, the show, no matter how stressful her life was, must always go on.

A trio of hooded figures entered the backstage area and Alison wanted to yell about where security was but she got her answer.

The security guards all hit the ground, crumpled like a piece of paper as they dropped. Alison's mouth hung open in surprise and not to mention a fair amount of shock.

"You will come with us, she has big plans for you," one of the females commented in a creepy voice.

Alison felt her annoyance simmer up a little bit more and she said what she felt in her most annoyed voice.

"I don't know who you think you are but I'm not going anywhere!" she shouted as she held her hands up and blasted them in the face.

She concerted energy into sound blasts and that rattled the ears of the people around them. There was a loud scream as they rocked back and forth and the young blonde pop star tried to use the distraction to get out of the room.

One of these females had super speed and she used it to block Alison's path.

"You will obey her, you will worship her, you will learn to love her," the female stated as she grabbed Alison but she slipped out of the grip.

In desperation, she picked up a wooden chair and smashed it over the head of one of the woman but she shrugged it off.

Alison wondered if these women for lack of a better term, were on some kind of super steroids or something because that was the only explanation for how she kept coming after her despite the fact that she should have put her down and out with that shot. Her heart kept pounding against her chest, offering a wicked drum beat as she continued to fight them in an attempt to escape.

"Poor lost lamb, do not struggle, you will make it only worse on yourself."

There was a blur and a fist that knocked one of the females out with a huge crunch.

The other two looked at the person in the shadows, all they saw was green eyes burning with power.

"I believe that that she told you to back off," Harry said firmly as he stood in the shadows and Kara joined them.

Security was taking a permanent nap, down and out for the count. This left Harry and Kara to fight their mysterious party guests.

"You think that you can stop us"

Kara blocked a punch from one of these females then responded by knocking her back with one of her own causing the hood to fall back revealing her face to them. The blonde recoiled as she saw that this young female wasn't much older than Claire.

"What are you doing?" Kara asked as she pulled her next punch not wanting to hurt the girl but that was wrong move as the girl used her distracted state of mind to pin the blonde to the ground using hyper gravity.

Harry dodged the energy attacks of his own enemy and then flicked a disc at her. She caught it without a second thought.

"You thought that you could defeat me, with this?" the woman stated her voice filled with disbelief.

"That was the idea," Harry said as the disc let off a horrific shriek causing her to keel over in agony.

The woman clenched her hands to her ears in an attempt to drown out the ringing in her mind but as this was happening the third woman or rather the first one who had been knocked out in the initial moments of the fight, grabbed Harry from behind.

She was larger than the other two and she had super strength. Harry, however was stronger as he pushed out of the hold she had on him and turned around to face her head on.

He backed up over the mines he'd place on the ground earlier causing her to light up like a Christmas tree when she advanced on him, the electric shock eventually dropping her down to one knee.

Kara's turn was up next as she flipped through the air and nailed her enemy in the face with a drop kick which knocked her on her ass.

Alison watched in awe, she had powers sure, but she never used them like this, or against people this dangerous. Well she had faced a few dangerous threats back home but this was in an entirely different league.

The blonde looked closely at them and noticed something familiar about their auras. Her mouth snapped open as everything hit her suddenly with a blunt force.

She sensed kindred spirits pop in around her and the blonde's hands trembled nervously and her heart went aflutter as as she watched them finish off this gaggle of female goons.

'_They're….oh my, they're just like me!' _Alison stated with a thinly veiled mental squeal. She could hardly believe it but she had to, she had to believe it. The blonde's eyes widened with hope and promise.

The goon girls were strung upside down and Harry leaned forward, turning his attention to them.

Alison watched him and there was a pause where Harry turned around to face Alison.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked her in a gentle voice.

She managed to keep her voice steady and professional despite it nearly cracking. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Harry flashed an incredibly charming smile at her which caused her to nearly lose herself but she recovered.

X-X-X

One of the females tried to pull herself upright, despite being knocked a bit groggy. The smile of Harry Potter was slight but still visible as he had her dangling upside down. Her two companions had been knocked unconscious and dangled upside down from the ceiling as well.

"There's a chance that you might not realize what you're doing," Harry told her in a calm voice.

To say that the female got indignant at his words would be putting things mildly. Kara kept her eyes on the door in case more of them were running around and were ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

"I would never betray her!"

Harry decided to take a few seconds to collect his thoughts and calm himself down before he spoke. "Who is…."

"That's not any of your concern!" she shouted as she looked furious. "She has taken us all in, given us purpose, we love her, and some day, you will fall because you have forsaken her. All shall worship her as well as our lord and master."

Within these delusional ramblings, Harry thought that he was getting somewhere. The wizard kept his eyes locked onto her and could see the glassy eyed expression that came with being hypnotized or brain washed.

"I see," Harry stated dismissively, it was his hope that by acting dismissive, he would be able to coax some more information out of this woman.

Whether or not that would work in the end, Harry had no idea. He decided that he would wait, give her enough rope to hang herself, maybe, and everything would work out in the end.

"You don't believe in her, you don't believe that he will destroy you, but we know what you are and you will be crushed just like they all are, no matter what!"

'_And we've got a fanatic,' _Kara thought with a sigh.

'_Well the brain washing is very heavy on this one, the person behind this, she's been working this one over for years and years to get her to this level,' _Harry thought as he looked her over.

"And if you see the one that has forsaken us, tell her that she will pay for her betrayal!" the girl spat.

Harry's interest shot up a little bit, now that he was getting somewhere, he was curious to see where, how far, he was getting. He leaned forward, intrigued and trying to coax her to spill something.

"Oh, really?" Harry asked, once again keeping his voice cool and dismissive.

Kara half expected an ambush of some sort and the blonde's eyes remained fixed on the door. Her heart thumped against her chest.

"You're dismissive attitude cannot mask your fear!" the female howled furiously and Harry smiled at her.

"I can tell you that only one of us is afraid and I know for a fact it's not me," Harry remarked to her, his voice and attitude cool, calm, and collected.

"Your bravado is…."

"Yes, I heard you the first time," Harry commented as he clapped his hand over her mouth which caused anger to flare through her eyes. "I can tell your type. Longing for a purpose, desperate for affection, so you've fallen in with the wrong crowd."

The woman's eyes flashed with anger and she spat out another statement, furious as it was. "You don't know me at all!"

"I know more about you, than you know about yourself," Harry remarked to her, challenging her to contradict him. No contradiction came however, even if he saw it in her eyes that she wanted so badly to throw his words back at him.

She finally found her tongue and her strength to push on. "I know your type as well…."

"Oh this should be good," Harry told her as he wondered what she would say.

"Your type thinks that they have to go on some high and mighty act about how people should do the right thing but….it doesn't matter," the female said as she tried to get her thoughts coherent. "It doesn't matter because….she showed me the way, opened my eyes. I was just a lamb being lead to the slaughter. Lost amongst the countless numbers of others, but they have been embraced by her."

Harry was almost sure that they were getting somewhere but he had to be for sure.

"You have been brain washed pretty badly, haven't you?" Harry asked her as her brown eyes flashed with malice and gave an eerie glow.

"I haven't been brain washed, my eyes have been opened clearly!" she protested and Harry had one expression on his face. It was one of abject disbelief.

"And you sympathize with your captors, trust me, I've been down that road before, it's hard to break the conditioning."

"She won't be happy about this, we needed the pop star, she is vital to our plans!" the female spilled, losing her head.

Harry could tell her mind was opening up, in addition to her mouth and there was a sense that she had self doubts. The others were too far gone at least from what they said.

"No, don't leave me, please, don't leave me, AHHH!" she screamed as a pulse of energy shot through her brain, burning through her cerebral cortex.

Harry tried to save her, but her brain was completely cooked. A corpse had more brain activity than she did now and her eyes were blank.

'_She….she….just like that,' _Kara thought as she hung onto Harry's arm. There was this young girl, not much older than Claire, who got her brain completely cooked.

'_Her will was not strong enough to break it,' _Harry thought as he wrapped his arm around Kara and the blonde's eyes followed his progress. They were glad that the concert went on as scheduled, Alison managed to go out, saying that performing was the best thing for her.

Harry did see something, the face of a woman with grey hair, who looked kindly but at the same time sinister.

'_Granny,' _Harry thought to himself as he checked the other two for any kind of backdoors before he delved into their minds for more information.

'_You can't hope to bring me down,' _a sinister and deep voice echoed.

Harry was taken aback and for a second he felt darkness cloud around his mind but he forced it out.

"Harry?" Kara asked.

"That was him," Harry breathed and Kara saw something that she never saw on Harry's face ever before.

He was uncertain.

X-X-X

Other than that grisly event the entire concert went off without a hitch. Not that it wouldn't have, as Alison Blaire was a professional who seemed to be able to work under immense amounts of pressure.

They couldn't help but wonder what this was about.

"Miss Blaire wants to see you backstage," one of her people told Kara and Harry.

They wondered about this.

'_Well it looks like we were recognized,' _Harry told his wife and Kara offered a smile and a nod.

'_Yes, but how much, that's really the question, isn't it?' _Kara asked him.

'_Well we'll find out, won't we?' _Chloe asked them.

'_Claire….after what happened, I don't want her backstage, so can you and Laura take her out to the car and we'll meet you back home in an hour,' _Harry informed Chloe through the bond link.

Chloe could not resist firing back with the obvious quip. _'Well we can tell that you're becoming a parent rather well.'_

Kara was on the offensive right away. _'How so?'_

'_Well you've mastered the art of lying to your children,' _Chloe said calmly.

'_Chlo, I'm not lying,' _Harry said in an even voice.'_There's a psychotic woman who is abducting children and brainwashing them. That includes teenagers around Claire's age. If I can help it, I don't want her exposed to that kind of life.'_

Harry recalled how much he sounded like the adults that were around him when he was that age but he shook off those doubts. This was entirely different, he was forced into the role that he was due to sheer incompetence of the people around him, and no one could convince him otherwise.

'_I know Harry, I understand, I didn't mean in that way,' _Chloe remarked.

"Claire, your father and I have something that we have to do really quickly but we'll meet you in about an hour, okay?" Kara told her daughter and Claire surveyed her mother, as if she was scanning her.

"Yeah, okay," Claire offered in a bored voice, it was a typical teenager response after all. Plus she had fun at the concert and it was getting late.

Laura smiled as she sensed something in the offing but if her and Chloe joined Kara and Harry backstage, there would be a sense that something out of the ordinary was happening. So the duo lead Claire back outside to the car.

'_So are you ready?' _Harry asked Kara and the blonde smiled.

'_For better or worse, I'm ready,' _Kara informed Harry and they locked hands, getting ready to take that next step.

They used the pass were given to access the backstage area, a place many would give their right arms to be. Then again, despite the criticism, Alison Blaire was one of the more sought out pop stars in the world. She was single, young, and her music had a large following of young fan. Which made Harry and Kara realize how powerful it could be if someone could control that.

They showed the passes that the guard gave them and the surly guard stepped off to the side.

'_It wouldn't take much to knock someone like that out at all,' _Kara commented to her Alpha.

'_No, and it didn't,' _Harry said, reminding her what happened to the guards who seemed to have only put up a token amount of resistance.

"You're here, I can't believe that you're here!"

Alison excited scream was enhanced by a huge hug that she gave Harry. The young woman wrapped her arms around Harry and pressed her body so tightly against his frame that it seemed like she was only stopping short of driving her tongue down his throat due to Kara's presence.

Kara stopped and stared as everything clicked in the young blonde's mind, at least much as it was allowed to.

"You're one of us," Kara said to Alison.

Alison played it cool, at least for the moment but her eyes locked onto Kara. The other blonde was about to show her what she meant. The blonde took out a piece of paper and a pen and sketched the symbol of death.

"Does this symbol mean anything to you, anything to you at all?" Kara asked the pop star and Alison's eyes widened as she looked like a bobble head gone wild nodding up and down and looking over the symbol.

"Yes, yes, yes, of course, it means, that I'm one of them, she told me that I might meet more of you but I never thought that the meeting would be this memorable," Alison rambled on to the point she was practically babbling and Harry and Kara offered her reassuring smiles. Alison looked at them with a sheepish expression on her face and she stated what might as well have been the obvious. "I'm babbling aren't I?"

Kara stuck her thumb and her fore finger apart. "Yes, just a little bit."

Harry offered her one of his extremely charming smiles, the type of smile that soaked the panties of every woman who was in the room when they caught a glimpse of it. "Don't worry though, it suits you, a lot."

Alison swallowed and offered one statement. "Really?"

"Yes, Alison, really," Harry told her after a second.

"Okay, I kind of walked into that one," the pop star offered with a grin.

Then again, taking a long look at Harry, who could blame her from her brain failing so hard and so bad in the presence of this….well a god was a pretty good way to describe him.

'_Stay cool, Blaire,' _the pop star mentally warned herself.

"So we have business to discuss," Kara offered her.

Alison smiled, they had been at this a lot longer than she had been, so naturally they would have more insight about the ins and outs of being a Herald of Death.

X-X-X

"Wow, that's a lot to take in," Alison said after the two explained everything to her. Granted, she got the very brief briefing but this…..well this was extremely different to take in.

Not that she was not more than up to the task but still she found herself thrust into the head of the lion to say the very least.

"Yes, I was thrown into the deep end but you came in after the management change and you can thank your lucky stars for it," Harry offered and then he paused. "Old Death was kind of a bitch."

"There is no kind of about it, Harry," Kara told him and Harry offered her a smile and a shrug, as if he was going to say, "my mistake."

"So those people….they were after me, will they come back?" Alison asked.

Harry wanted to say something reassuring but he stopped himself short of a blatant lie. He knew that there was something about Darkseid that was extremely unsettling to him and he didn't want to build up any false hope in people.

"I won't mince words, Alison, there is a lot regarding Darkseid that even I'm going to be struggling to deal with and I've got more plans than most do," Harry offered to her.

Karen snorted through the bond link. _'Understatement.'_

"But, you'll be ready for him, won't you?" Alison asked and there was a certain sense of wide eyed idealism in her eyes that Harry would feel bad if he did not give things a good try.

"I'm making plans, yes," Harry offered her.

Alison felt a slight amount more at ease with the woman placing her hands upon his and sighed. "You mean to tell me that those females were…."

"Yes they were captured, ripped apart and then put back together in the image of a vile woman," Kara told her and there was fury that danced through her eyes. The blonde's gaze locked onto the two of them. "She wanted to use you."

"I wouldn't…."

You wouldn't have a choice in the matter," Harry told both of the blondes and there was a few seconds where they group exchanged tense looks. "Darkseid's going to get stronger and the stronger he gets, the more people are going to fall under his thrall. We need to stand together."

"That's the fact of the matter," Kara offered her. "We're not going to stand for this."

And if they had a chance, they were going to undo what Granny did to those girls. The fact that they could not save one of them was haunting. Again the fact that she was about Claire's age spooked them. Harry could sense it, she was not a bad person, not until that demented harpy got her claws into her.

'_I'll find her and I'll rip her apart,' _Harry thought over the bond.

'_Harry, calm down,' _Diana warned him through the link. _'I know it's hard to deal with something like this, and believe me, I want to smack that bitch around too.'_

'_Yeah, we all do,' _Tess offered as she finally jumped in on the bond link after being silent for the entire conversation. The redhead offered a lengthy sigh.

'_She might have gotten her hands on you years ago,' _Harry told her.

'_I….don't know how I escaped then or maybe she tightened her security because of me,' _Tess thought, there was a lot about her past that was coming together and she knew that it all tied into what happened.

'_We'll figure out what happened and we'll rescue them all,' _Harry told them.

'_If anyone could, it would be you,' _Tess offered him, she had a lot of confidence in her voice towards Harry and she closed her eyes as she recalled all of the extraordinary things that Harry was capable of. Although she did wonder if his luck might run out someday.

'_We'll win, we have to win,' _Kara thought to them. There was no trying about it, they needed to succeed, they had to succeed. That was the fact of the matter at the hand, they had to win.

'_We will win,' _Karen offered. If she was serious, she would know that there was a lot on the line and they could not afford to blunder.

Harry sighed.

"So you know about the quirk of the Heralds right, that we need to do certain activities to stabilize our powers?" Harry asked her.

"So, can we do it with non-Heralds?" Alison asked but she was getting positively wet at the thought of doing something intimate with Harry. Her smile became really goofy the more she thought about this.

Kara decided to clarify this point and she placed her hands on Allison's shoulders. Her blue eyes locking onto those of the the other blond. "Well you could but it won't be as fulfilling and you won't scratch the itch that you need scratched."

Alison offered a nod and a smile. "I see."

"Yeah, you see," Harry told her and he placed a hand on her thigh and worked his magic on her. "We're not going to force you into anything, naturally."

"Believe me, I've spent some time with you, you saved me, I would be a pretty rotten person if I didn't thank you for that," Alison breathed huskily as she watched Harry and leaned towards him.

"Oh, you would be pretty awful if you didn't at least give me a thank you," Harry commented to her and she smiled as she leaned forward.

Her legs were draped over his hips and the blonde placed her hands on his shoulders. Alison smiled as she watched him, looking into his deep green eyes, a smile crossing her face.

"So, let's begin," Alison offered in a breathy tone of voice.

Harry cupped her tight little ass and pulled her in as she unbuttoned his shirt and bent down to allow him to see her cleavage.

"Yes, let's," Harry offered as he pulled her jacket off to see her short shirt and then pulled that off to reveal her bra clad chest.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends. **

Alison smiled and she turned to Harry and Kara after their activities.

"It will be a pleasure to work with you," she offered with a grin.

X-X-X

Whilst others fiddled around, not that he had any problem with fiddling there was just a time and place for it in his mind. Harrison Luthor plotted as he watched the latest news on the Vigilante Registration Act. He'd put a muzzle of Godfrey, which he found rather fitting, but there were other people who wanted to cash in on the act.

They were fools, no matter what their agenda was. Harrison understood it with picture perfect clarity, he understood that this act was going to lead to more problems then it was ever going to solve.

"Whilst support for the Vigilante Registration Act has tapered off thanks to a groundswell of Internet petitions and lobbying from businessmen such as LuthorCorp golden boy, Harrison Luthor, others are trying to formulate a way to see this act pushed through."

'_Fools, the whole lot of them' _Harrison thought as he scanned the surroundings around them and waited for what was going to happen.

He wondered if they could be given enough rope to hang themselves. Actually it appeared to be highly likely that this was going to happen.

"Other wealthy businessmen have decided that this act needs to go forward, for the spirit of American business to be sustained," the newscaster remarked.

'_Fools,' _Harrison thought.

Heroes were a necessity, as much as he loathed to admit that fact. There were a lot of people in the world that were disorderly and did not understand what needed to be done to achieve certain results. Many of them supported that act.

Yet, Harrison's eyes were locked firmly onto one party as he made his way onto the television screen. He was a figure that caused anyone who saw him to stand up and take notice. He was an incredibly tall and muscular man of African American descent with imposing eyes dressed in a white pinstripe suit.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome a man who will help push through the Vigilante Registration Act," a senator stated with sandy hair and glasses. "Wilson Fisk."

Harrison said nothing but his eyes was fixed on Fisk with interest. He wanted to find out more about Fisk because he arrived here with a past that everyone seemed to remember. It had all of the trappings of one of the Heralds of Death although he had a feeling that Death was not behind this.

"Yes, I'm seeing this," Harrison said to someone over the phone. "I know, I know, I know."

He knew a lot as he wondered what the game was and there was one that was afoot, he could sense that much from what was happening.

He knew this and he waited for Fisk to speak.

"I'm disappointed with the fact that some people think that these caped heroes are a good thing," Fisk offered to them. "The fact is they glorify these people. This is not a comic book, far from it. This is reality and they were stepping all over good American people."

Harrison watched to see what was going to happen next even though his eyes were still firmly locked on everything happening in front of him.

'_Keep speaking,' _Harrison thought to himself. _'Keep digging your hole deeper so I can bury you within it.'_

Fisk did not quit speaking, at least not yet. Harrison watched the man on the other side and wondered what his game was. Everyone had a game, it was just a matter of finding out what made these people tick.

"Super heroes are responsible for more property damage than natural disasters, responsible for some of the criminals that they fight against, and also responsible for turning the youth down a destructive path," Fisk remarked to them.

Harrison sensed something extremely sinister pulling the strings.

"The solution is that if we police them, it will discourage any efforts, it's time for us to treat them like the criminals that they are," Fisk commented to them. "It might seem like fun and games now but what happens when your son snaps his neck, trying to emulate the Blur?"

An obvious ploy out of the playbook of concerned mothers everywhere, appeal with the "Think of the children." card and Harrison almost applauded him for his underhanded tactics. He was almost impressed and it took a lot to impress him.

"Tell me, are our children really safe?" Fisk asked them all and that was a statement that caused a stirring in the press area. He once again appealed to a real concern. "There might be others who will fight this act, trying to turn the issue around because these heroes affect their bottom line but for the ninety nine percent of us, we can't allow the needs of one percent of the population screw us over."

Harrison watched the television and only barely noticed Fury walking in.

"Is he a problem that we need to take out? Fury asked Harrison and the wizard smiled at the Amazon.

Not yet," Harrison told her. He could blow the entire chess game if he ordered a preemptive strike too soon and Fisk was someone else's pawn. He could see it in his eyes. Fisk's gaze was glowing and powerful and Harrison pushed his hair back, pausing with a calculating smirk.

"But soon?" Fury asked him.

Harrison smiled at this alternate version of Diana. "Precisely."

Give him enough rope to hang himself and things would happen. Harrison thought that was the fact of the matter time and time again.

All he had to do was wait and he was at the edge of everything, at the edge of achieving his goals.

One more puzzle piece.

"How is your intern doing?" Ultrawoman asked.

Harrison smiled as he did not see this version of Kara show up. "We have her hooked, I think."

"That's great, as if there was anyone who was better than you," Ultrawoman told Harrison and Harrison smiled.

In this world he did have competition so as much as he loathed to admit it, he was not the only Alpha Male, unlike in his previous world.

Of course that pushed him to be better than his best.

It was time to figure out the next phase of the plan. Harrison's smile widened as his girls watched him nervously.

They never felt at ease when he was like this.

**To Be Continued in the Next Chapter. **


	10. Chapter 10: Cultivating Hope Part One

**Chapter Ten: Cultivating Hope Part One. **

Even the perfect night in Metropolis was still one that had the potential to lead to many dangers. The citizens in the city were still divided on whether or not vigilantes such as the Justice League were a good thing or a bad thing with the debates getting extremely heated about how there would not be as much crime if there were not super powered heroes out there in the world.

"None of this crime happened before the Blur showed up. If you ask me, he should run on out of the city."

"You're wrong man, the Blur has done nothing but good. We're much safer because of him."

"If you ask me, you're nothing but a fan boy or maybe you're one of them."

A hooded figure made her way through the alleyway, not knowing how she got here but she knew that she was in danger and had to get away from here quickly. Her feet propelled her forward, shuffling herself back and forth across the ground, her heart thumping within her chest. The young woman keeping careful watch over her surroundings.

She was dressed in a red cloak with the hood pulled over her head. Her green eyes where filled with a certain amount of fear. Her hair flowed down her back, a vibrant red and her emerald green eyes seemed to glow ever so faintly with power. She had some moderate curves, a nice set of B-Cup breasts, bordering on a C-cup, although she was still young. She had long legs and she felt like they were her best feature. She looked out from underneath her hood, her fingers twitching as she nervously checked out the alley. She offered a lengthy sigh as she had that strange sense that she was being followed.

In her hand, she lifted the silver pendant that resembled the mythological creature known as a Phoenix. She recalled her previous mission trying to prevent a bad future from happening where machines ruled the Earth and she helped a certain web slinging hero return back to his own time. This was a different timeline, a different reality, and for some reason, she was in this reality now and she had no idea how she got here.

'_Stay steady,' _she thought to herself but there was someone approaching her from the entrance of the alleyway.

She tried not to lose her mind due to her panic even if it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

"We have her," a cold voice commented behind her and there was a sense that there was something sinister in the air.

"What do you want?"

"You are the key to evolution," one of the faceless minions stated as he peered at her with glowing eyes. "Evolution will not be destroyed by the darkness."

"I don't….I don't know what you want, I think your mistaking me for someone else!" she yelled in frustration but she dodged the attack of the person who lunged at her.

"We don't think anything, we know," the calm figure offered her as they tried to grab her.

She panicked, her powers flared up and knocked him back. The fire her body emitted caused them to be burned and she stepped back in shock.

She really did not want to use her powers but she panicked because of the attempted assault. The redhead turned her head around and started to breath in and out rapidly as she tried to calm herself down. The woman's eyes flared with anger and her mind was going a million miles a minute.

There was a panicked scream from one of the civilians that spotted her.

"SHE'S ONE OF THE FREAKS!"

That was never a good sign hearing someone yell that out loud. There was a crowd that scrambled in to watch her. Meteor freaks weren't really publicized or known, until Godfrey started running his mouth. Even by the time he was shut down, the damage was done.

"They were trying to…."

A group of police officers made their way towards her as the young female watched them warily, trying not to lose her temper.

"Don't make me angry," she warned them as she tried to reign in her formidable cosmic powers. "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

"Stay still and don't move."

She felt her heart beat angrily.

'_I thought…..I THOUGHT THAT I LEFT THIS FUCKING SHIT WHEN I WAS HOME!' _she shrieked mentally as she felt her hands twitch, her eyes flare, and her heart pump harder.

The redhead's body swayed from left to the right as her eyes glowed.

"Stay back! Leave me alone!"

"You're not…."

"Didn't you hear the lady, she said leave her alone."

Artemis showed up in front of them and cast the crowd a warning look.

"Green Arrow?" one of them asked.

"Close enough," she said with a shrug. Given that Oliver was still MIA, presumed dead, she figured that the mantle was wide open for her. "I'm sure that there's a misunderstanding."

"She's a filthy meteor freak!"

Artemis just frowned. "That's a bit close minded of you."

The girl got annoyed like they were talking about her like she was not there. Her eyes glowed, after the trip she had, she was not in a good mood.

"I can get you somewhere safe, somewhere where you can get some help, trust me, okay?" Artemis asked in what she hoped was a pacifying voice after turning to face the young girl fully, but the redhead looked at her with narrowed eyes. She dropped her hands to her sides although she was prepared to fire in case this police force got a bit trigger happy.

The bullets shot at the mutant but she stopped them with a telekinetic attack.

"That was the stupidest thing that you ever could have done," the girl offered to her as she rotated the bullets then fired them back at the police officers with rapid fury.

It was only a small favor that they had the armor on. Artemis saw them slump backwards due to the impact of the bullets and saw the woman teleport out of the way. Her eyes closed as she threw her head back and gave a long and labored sigh, frustration mounting in her eyes and in her voice.

"Okay, that could have gone a lot better," Artemis muttered to herself as she saw the panicked cops turn towards her which she took as her cue to leave. The witch hunt could turn on her so she took off running in the other direction after dropping a smoke bomb. She offered a lengthy sigh as she took out a communicator.

She hoped that they could forgive her for pretty much blowing her first mission as a member of this team.

"Oracle, this is Green Arrow," Artemis stated.

"Report on the situation," Chloe told her over the link and that's what Artemis did.

X-X-X

"Gotham City is in the midst of another gang war," Barbara told Harry and Kara as they walked around the top floor of the Watchtower.

"When isn't it having a gang war?" Kara asked as she sighed. Gotham City was a place that she was not that comfortable visiting in the first place and she wouldn't be allowing any of her children to step foot there. Barbara smiled at her as she sighed.

"Well there have been some moments of….." Barbara commented but she saw a very frantic Artemis rushing in which stopped her conversation. Chloe appeared on the other end.

"Whoa, Artemis, what….."

"We have a problem and by a problem, I really mean a problem," Artemis told them and there was a few seconds where the group stared at each other. She could see that Harry was beginning to feel a certain amount of dread at her words. "Well, I'm not sure if you picked this up but you pick up on a lot of things but this is not the thing that I'm sure…."

"Artemis, calm down," Harry told her sternly and the blonde archer blinked and nodded, taking one breath in and one breathe out, ceasing the babbling.

"Alright, alright, calming down, I'm so calming down," Artemis said to them and Harry grabbed her arm, squeezing it slightly. The sudden contact was appreciated and it did a wonderful job of calming her nerves.

"Okay, calmed down, now you can tell me," Harry offered the blonde archer female and she nodded as she proceeded to explain.

"Well, you know how you're always looking for any fallout from the last meteor shower, you know, before the government does," Artemis offered him.

"Yes, I'm more than aware of that," Harry commented in a light tone of voice. That was his plan because of Project Power Plant, he was trying to recruit these people before the government or any number of unsavory people did. The fact that super powered females where of interest to Granny Goodness and by extension Darkseid or Harrison also caused him to step up his efforts.

"Well this classifies under the weird category and I mean weird weird, not like weird compared to normal weird," Artemis offered and Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Chloe offered her but she shrugged. The blonde made her way over to the revamped Shining Light Foundation computer. "I'm guessing the government doesn't know, so this is merely a local problem. Which is not necessarily a good thing because if they know that there's a potentially powerful meteor mutant on the loose well…."

"Yes, I know," Harry stated as he put his hands on his wife's shoulders as Kara, Barbara, and Artemis watched in the background. He paused and a smile crossed his face as he sensed something stirring in the shadows. He knew who it was, so it was time to blow her cover. "Alex, you can come out of the shadows now."

Alex offered an indignant expression that flashed over her face as she popped her head up in shock.

"How…how…how…."

Harry smiled as his sister stammered and he placed his hand on her cheek, stroking it fondly, a smile on his face.

"Please, Alex, I'm going to have to get up pretty early in the morning to be able to fool myself," Harry told her and the girl rolled her eyes before conceding the truth of that statement. Harry offered a smile towards her and invited her to join the rest of the group. "I take it the rest of your club knows a little bit about what might be going on."

Alex's smile widened and she nodded. "Yes, just a little bit, granted not that much but we're piecing together a few ideas but I suppose that you're punching up what you can find on that computer of yours."

Chloe was smiling as she locked onto the satellites that were above the Earth and saw the person. "Well she popped into reality around the time of the meteor shower, I can tell, the residue on her is similar to our resident pop star's and also Harrison Luthor's."

"Of course," Alex said as sudden realization dawned upon her. "She might not be a threat but the fact she's scared out of her mind, well that could make her one."

Harry offered her a raised eyebrow and Alex sighed. "But you already knew that."

"Of course, I already knew that," Harry told his sister with a smile and there was a few seconds where Chloe paused and frowned, wrinkling her nose up as she cycled through the computer before her. Harry raised his eyebrow and spoke. "Problem?"

"Yeah, kind of, the power readings that she's giving off, well...WOW...might not be an adequate enough way to describe them," Chloe said and she paused for a second to collect her thoughts as the group waited to see what she was going to say. "So….yeah….we're dealing with someone who has powers that can alter reality itself."

"Cross reference mystical entities from Krypton…." Kara started but Thara walked in to join them. She had just got back from New Krypton. Her eyes widened and Kara turned to her friend. "Is there….well a problem?"

"Well, no but….I know what this energy is," Thara stated as she felt the distance of the energy. "It's not too unlike the Flamebird Entity that I've bonded with."

Harry was even more intrigued. As anyone who studied Kryptonian history knew, the Flamebird entity was something that transcended life itself and Thara had been fortunate enough to be bonded to it. The redhead Kryptonian watched as her nerves were fried.

"Yes, I think that I recognize it now," Kara said as something smacked in her head with the force of the blunt object. Of course, how could she be so stupid? She should have recognized it straight off the bat but she had been blinded by the truth for a while.

"Well, don't leave us in suspense," Barbara said and she locked eyes with Artemis, like she had been locked out of the loop.

Thara offered a shadow of a smile as she dropped the bombshell. "They call it the Phoenix Force."

X-X-X

The young girl thought that she gave all of her attempted captors the slip. She stood rigid as her heart beat a steady beat against her rib cage and tried to assess the situation.

'_I didn't know….well actually I did know that I was this powerful but this is nuts,' _she started as she closed her eyes. She had control, a lot of control but there were times where she was thrown into a stressful situation and she lost all degree of it.

This was one of those times as she felt her heart beat rapidly, she was having trouble keeping her mind mind calm and it was a struggle not to track of what was going on around her. Her breathing became extremely frantic as her heart kept pumping hard, she took a stepped forwards only to stop suddenly as she thought she saw something and ended up backing into a large hulking figure.

She saw his eyes were glowing red with malice.

"Back, stand by, I swear…."

The figure grabbed her around the throat but she used her powers to flash away and the figure popped behind her.

"You're losing control, aren't you?" he asked taunting her, his words meant to torment her, however one might describe it, he was doing it to her and it was causing her to lose a lot of the control that she had over her powers. Something that she had already been on shaky ground when it came to controlling them to say the very least. "It's obvious, with typical cosmic entities, they have more power than any mortal shell can handle."

His malice filled eyes narrowed and a sadistic smile crossed his face, revealing his fanged maw to her eyes. The woman felt her heart drum even harder against her chest.

"It's not your fault, not at all," he told the young female as he placed a hand on her shoulder but she blasted him off. He took a step back, pausing for a moment before he began to speak once more. "You're not properly evolved."

He smiled.

"But you can be rebuilt, stronger than ever, although there are certain modifications to your attitude that must be made," he commented.

"I won't allow you to take me to Darkseid, I know what he is!" the female told him boldly in an attempt to hide her fear and the sinister shadow curled his lips in amusement.

"Darkseid is that who you?….No, never, not Darkseid," he remarked callously as he gently placed a clawed finger on her cheek. "You see he represents a barrier to evolution, an obstacle to my work. Someone like him, he doesn't deserve to be around for he wishes to entomb people back to a time where they feared what was lurking in the shadows."

He paused and smiled.

"They feared the unknown but now with bright lights, big cities, and the Internet, people have been desensitized to that kind of thing," the man stated as he placed his hands on the young girl's head and a creepy smile flickered across his face as he stared her down.

She was paralyzed although she was not sure if it was from fear but there was something that held her in place and made her unable to move from the stance she was in. Her knees were jelly as she tried to prevent them from knocking together.

"Perhaps they should fear what is in the shadows for things still move there whilst people are not looking and they still consume those humans who refuse to evolve," the man in the shadows stated. His chalk white face, red eyes, and fangs were now visible as he had long claws as he kept his locked onto her. "The darkness that moves within the shadows is ever consuming, ever dangerous, and you don't know what comes out, at least until it's too late."

He paused and whispered creepily into her ear. "Much too late."

His laughter resounded with sadistic implications as he placed a hand on the side of her face.

"Do not be scared, young Hope, I'm just merely telling you what to expect in these lurking shadows," he told her.

"And perhaps you should be scared of what's in the shadows."

There was a blur as Har-Rell showed up with Alex, Kara, Artemis, and Barbara.

"Ah, the Blur and his little harem, I'm touched," the man said in a bored voice.

"Heads up, he looks pretty sinister," Alex whispered to the group who nodded but the man looked at her with a stern expression even if it was mocking.

"That's Mister Sinister to you," he told to her and Hope watched with wide eyes. "No need to be concerned now but I was just going to take my young friend…."

"Like hell you are," Kara stated as she blasted him with heat vision but a shield appeared around Sinister's body which bounced Kara's attack back at her.

It blew up the wall behind her as Kara dodged.

"Your lack of hospitality is alarming," Sinister commented dryly as he fired an energy blast at them but Harry dodged around it then circled behind him, rigging the ground beneath him as he passed.

"So is your lack of fashion sense," Harry stated dryly as he mentally gave the cue for the shock grenades to detonate.

Sinister was sent down to his knees as an electrical charge arced through him causing the nerve receptors in his body to go haywire.

"I've got this one," Artemis stated as she shot an arrow at him. A weighted net emerged from the front of the arrow wrapping tightly around his body and trapping him in place. No matter what, he could not struggle out from his position.

It least it seemed that way from the first glance but his eyes glowed with malice and he slipped out of the net, dropping down to the ground and reappeared from the other side.

"And now it's time to flee!"

A force field appeared around him as he opened a portal and Harry, Kara, and Alex tried to use their powers to blast through the field but they were propelled back. No matter what, they could not get through the barrier to the portal which meant that they were back at square one.

Harry managed to put a trace on the portal before it completely shut but that was just a shot in the dark that it would work. Portals were completely wonky.

X-X-X

"You do realize if this Sinister guy gets his hands on the Phoenix Force, it's game over?"

Alex told Harry this and her brother gave her a dirty look which caused the woman to throw her hands in the air and back up, just a little bit.

"Yeah, I know, stating the obvious and all that but it has to be said," Alex told him with a smile on her face but the smile was completely pained. Harry threw his head back and his sigh was long and lengthy.

"I hope…..well we've got a lot cut out for us," Harry informed the redhead who nodded alongside Kara, Barbara, and Artemis. "I've got good news and bad news."

Artemis sighed at that. "Of course, you couldn't have bad news without good news, that's just one of those things….well it's just one of those things that's part and parcel, there's good news and there's bad news, isn't there?"

"Always," Harry informed them both with a smile across his face as he prepared to step forward. "That girl, she's a power that throws a wrench into the plans of many people I'm sure and that includes us."

He closed his eyes, if he could track something, anything, it would take a lot of the guesswork out of the problem. Right now, Harry was grasping at some rather powerful straws and he started to interface with the Shining Light Foundation computer. The computer was linked to him, in many ways, the computer was him.

'_Okay, focus, focus, go, focus, get ready, keep focusing, and go,' _Harry thought to himself in his mental link as he kept pushing himself to the next level.

There was something that was going to break and Barbara noticed something that Harry had been overlooking.

"Hey, Arcane, see that residue?" Barbara asked him.

Harry was the residue and scooped it up with a siphoning spell.

"Good eye Barbara, we might have to give you the title as the World's Greatest Detective," Harry told her in an appraising voice and Barbara looked extremely pleased but at the same time, very flushed as Harry held the vial in his hand. He prepared to analyze it.

Any clue that would point the way forward was a good thing at this point in time. Harry held it and tried to cross reference the residue.

'_Harry, just thought of something,' _Kara thought to Harry, frantically.

'_What is it, my love?' _Harry asked her as he thought and understood. _'It's going to be….it's got to be a trap, isn't it?'_

'_I think that much is always obvious but if this situation is serious as you say it is, we'll…..well you'll be able to get things together,' _Chloe offered to them. _'Ah muddled thoughts, maybe I'm the one who needs to get my thoughts together.'_

'_That's okay, it happens to the best of us,' _Harry thought to her with a chuckle as he ran through various scenarios in his mind, some quite implausible but that might just make them more plausible if that made any sense.

Using it's satellite up link the computer had picked up another trace of the residue in the city at large.

"Someone has a lab over by the docks," Harry told them and there were several nods at that.

"I figured as much but as you might have guessed, this is a clue that he might have planted," Alex told him and they nodded.

"Do you two have a degree in utter paranoia?" Artemis asked but Barbara turned to the young archer with a smile on her face.

"Batman is far worse," Barbara told the archer girl and there was a brief nod as the two of them exchanged a knowing glance with each other.

"Is he really?" Artemis asked, she had a mentor a long time ago that was paranoid. Then again, he lost an arm in combat, so that would make anyone jumpy.

"Yeah, but…."

Harry gave Barbara a look and she clammed up immediately. The wizard was putting his eyes on the portal and trying to feel magic in the air around him. His heart was thumping more steadily with a heavy beat, beat, beat in his chest.

'_Okay, focus, and do, focus and become,' _Harry thought as he recited that in his head like it was a mantra and there was an energy glow in the air.

Harry was focusing, he was becoming, he was trying to lock onto the waves of energy that was flowing in and out of him. His green eyes locked on the problem, he had to become like the energy pulses that were getting closer and closer to overwhelming all of them.

'_I think that I've got this one, the residue is down by the docks and the girl was taken down by the docks,' _Harry reported in to the group. _'I'm sure he's expecting me to head in there with all guns blazing and all that.'_

'_Well that would be a Blur thing to do,' _Lois offered, chiming in from the bond link.

'_Yes, it seems like thanks to the merger, I inherited Clark's reputation of not thinking ahead,' _Harry thought.

'_Well technically you are Clark, kind of, in part, yeah I'm going to shut up before I give myself a headache,' _Chloe commented.

Karen decided to add in her two cents. '_Yes, you're not the only one, do you want me check it out with the rest of the League?'_

'_Just to take a look at what defenses that he has around there, don't engage him in battle, unless absolutely necessary,' _Harry warned her through the bond link and Karen nodded in understanding. _'Right, be careful, good luck.'_

'_Why do I think that there should be "Because it's going to be needed" tacked in on the end there?' _Zatanna thought to him through the link.

'_Mostly because it is,' _Harry commented lightly. _'I wish you the best of luck and be safe out there.'_

'_Yeah, noted,' _Zatanna offered as she, Shayera, Diana, and Karen were ready to go even though they knew what they were blundering into might not be good.

X-X-X

The girl known as Hope tried to open her eyes but they felt extremely heavy and lidded as she was in a lab. She tried to twist her head out of the restraints and saw all kinds of specimens in glass tubes. It was starting to kind of creep her out, actually scratch kind of, it really was creeping her out. The redhead tried to push herself out of the restraints but collapsed down once more.

"I would not recommend struggling out of those, it's a futile effort," the soft and sinister voice stated as he turned up.

Hope was trying to struggle but she felt her body grow even more numb. There was a sense where she was trying to break herself free, trying to fight out.

"I'll give you credit where credit is due, you took a much stronger dose than most of your kind would have taken," Sinister stated in a dark tone of voice as he held the bone saw in his hand. "Sometimes the crudest methods are the most effective, wouldn't you say, my dear?"

She tried to get out of these restraints, trying to push herself up and out but the straps cut into her body and made it difficult to even move, well not without immense pain. There was a few seconds where she kept squirming.

"If you're holding out for a hero, I'm afraid that you're going to be holding out for one for a very long time," he said in a taunting voice. Hope wanted to break free of her restraints and smash his head in and he looked like he knew that she wanted to do that. He was trying to push her to the edge. "Your genetic structure is amazing, extremely alluring, you're great, and your mind…..well it's strong as well. Genetics can be an extremely powerful thing and yours are something that I have long sought out, the perfect combination of powerful beings."

Sinister once again went back to his tools and Hope's eyes widened as she tried to fight out of the straps, but they continued to cut into her, working into her body each time she moved. She felt her heart beat heavily and she tried to get out but she could not.

She could not think of being in a worst situation and believe her, she tried to come up with one. This was the worst thing that she ever experienced in her young life. And the worst thing of all was that her powers, formidable as they were, were not working at all.

'_Fuck, this sucks,' _she thought to herself.

"Get it over with, do what…."

"I'm savoring the moment, you should appreciate that, it's not often that I get to work with such a specimen," Sinister stated as he trailed one slimy finger down her cheek. This caused Hope to feel increasingly defiled as the mad scientist continued to trail his sharp finger nail down the side of her cheek and there was a few seconds where she closed her eye. "Ahh….it's impressive, isn't it? What can be done with you."

"What….what….what are you going to do?" she asked in a panicking tone of voice.

Sinister stood over the young girl and smiled. "Oh there are many things that I can to you. Contrary to popular belief, I despise Darkseid as much as the next person, he is a nuisance to my work. When he rolled through my world, he set back hundreds of years of research. All of my specimens were lost. I was studying a mutant for example who had an amazing healing factor and he was the best in the world at what he did. It would cause those who were strong to evolve to the next step but those who were weak, well their brains could not handle the pain. It was a drug, a rush, something that would damn them."

Sinister tapped his fingers on the other side of the stretcher.

"I feel that Darkseid should be wiped off of the tapestry of life and the Phoenix Force would be the perfect tool to rewrite reality in a world where survival of the fittest is guaranteed," Sinister breathed to her with an insane glare in his eyes. "And I'm going to use your power, your fine and intoxicating power to bring forth something great. Don't you dare think that this will be anything but revolutionary."

She tried to frantically struggle free but she found herself unable to do so. Her heart was beating steadily within her chest.

"The chemicals may cause an irregular heart rate that would lead to sudden death in most humans or even most mutants," he breathed to her as Sinister ran a finger across the side of her face. He had a gas mask and he lifted it over her face. "Just relax, my sweet little Hope, when it's over it will seem like nothing but a bad dream and your genetics will live on in the New World Order."

She offered a panicked whimper as she tried to break free but the harder she pushed, the more force that he exerted on her.

Sinister was about ready to see what made this Phoenix really tick but he heard a few thumps outside and a frown went across his face. He sensed something, a rat of some sort and he turned around to his minions who waited for orders.

"It appears that the Herald of Death has found my bait and is obviously thinking that he could play the hero," Sinister told his men who nodded. "I want you boys to arrange for a suitable reception for him and one that he won't be forgetting any time soon."

They nodded all with intense glares in their eyes.

"Absolutely, Mister Sinister."

Sinister waited for the next phase of his plot to continue. He knew that the powers would make him able to manipulate reality.

**To Be Continued. **


	11. Chapter 11: Hope Part Two

**Chapter Eleven: Cultivating Hope Part Two. **

Hope felt as if she was unable to properly lift her head and get a good look around despite her best efforts. There was no way for her to properly move her head and focus on her surroundings. In fact all she saw was a few blinking lights and wondered if this was the manifestation of her powers or the drugs in her system starting to take hold of her. Her heart steadily beat as she tried once more in vain to lift her head but she found that there was no easy way out of where she was restrained.

Trapped didn't even begin to describe how she felt right now. Hopeless didn't even begin to describe what Hope was feeling and she was trying to figure out a way to get herself out of the sticky situation that she was in, but there really was no easy way out, not this time, maybe not ever. She tried to free herself once more struggling fiercely against her bonds but Sinister grabbed her around the neck and pushed her back into place. There was a sense that he was annoyed that she was giving him more of a fight than he would have liked.

"Don't fret, it will be over soon, this will be less painful then going to the dentist," Sinister murmured in a taunting voice but he heard the crunch of minion skull on the outside of the door. It was not a sound that he was at ease with and there was another crunch as one of the minions flew through the door and landed against a crate with a sickening crack.

"Hope you don't mind, but we made our own way inside."

Shayera stepped inside, holding her big mace, and she was not alone.

"Hawkgirl," Sinister stated as he took a good look at the all star cast that was making their way into his domain. "As well as Wonder Woman, Power Girl, and Zatanna, all this attention for little old me? I'm touched."

"Okay, so you've read a few papers, you know our names, big freaking whoop," Karen stated dryly as she was a few inches away from putting her fist through his skull.

"Ahh but you see my dear, well I know everything about you, you know absolutely nothing about me," Sinister said to them all. "Therefore since I know you all so well, I know what it takes to annihilate you!"

Sinister pointed his hands in their direction and tried to blast Power Girl but she ducked under his attacks with ease and she blocked his follow up attack by grabbing his hand. The buxom blonde Kryptonian tightened the grip she had on him then twisted sending him smashing into the closest wall.

'_Distraction, you need a distraction? Okay Harry, no problem, one distraction coming right up,' _Karen thought tensely as she lifted her hands up before clapping them together at super strength causing a sonic blast to ring outwards.

It didn't have the effect on Sinister that she intended it to. Shayera's mace on the other hand? It more than had the effect which she wanted it to have. The mace smashed into Sinister's face with a sickening crunch, causing him to fly back with a solid impact to the ground.

"Got you…."

Diana moved in and tried to tie up Sinister but he dissolved into a black puddle of goo.

Harry nailed him in the face after popping up out of nowhere.

Sinister just reformed into a more solid form but never the less, he still felt the effects of being nailed. Artemis shot an arrow at him but he went intangible allowing it to phase through him.

"I have enhanced my own body with the DNA of other mutants from my world and quite the powerful specimens they were," Sinister stated as he took out a pack of playing cards and super charged them with kinetic energy before flinging them at his enemies.

The playing cards exploded in mid-flight, just narrowly missing them as they exploded too soon. Harry dodged out of the way of a second hand of cards and picked up a nearby drill to try and drill Sinister with. He once again was one step ahead of them.

"And now we go around and around and where I stop….well you know the rest," Sinister stated with a smug expression on his face.

Harry was getting sick and tired of this run around and he dodged the attacks as they came in. The Emerald eyed wizard was one step ahead of his enemy, maybe a half of a step if truth be told but he had to get him into the position.

Kara, meanwhile, while Sinister and Harry were having their go around, she had a very important job to do. She stepped over and found the young girl, strapped to a gurney. She could already tell that the girl had been pumped with enough drugs to kill a huge animal but because of her powers, she staved off most of it.

"It's okay, we're going to help you, just….try not to panic," Kara managed, almost pleading with the female.

Hope watched, wondering if she was going to be saved just to put in another prison. Her trust, as it was, was not at it's strongest right now. The blonde grabbed the straps and pulled them off.

The redhead, despite her mistrust, managed to hold her hands into the air and grab onto Kara's neck, allowing her to be pulled up. The blonde was trying to remove her.

Sinister was not that keen to allow his lab rat to be removed from the building and the fury that penetrated through his eyes showed this in spades.

"You won't…."

Harry nailed Sinister hard with a plasma blast from his hand. The energy blast broke through Sinister's shell and Harry noticed that a healing factor was kicking in nearly immediately.

He hated healing factors, so he needed to figure out a way to negate it and soon. His hand was raised into the air and he launched another bolt of energy towards Sinister. It staggered him back a few steps and Harry used the distraction to flip up over the top of his head. Sinister spun around to watch him standing there.

"Come on," Harry told him, waving for Sinister to come for him.

"You think you have any hope in beating me?" Sinister taunted him.

Har-Rell didn't even bother to respond to that verbally. His eyes closed for a moment before he opened them and unleashed his heat vision in it's most powerful form to blast Sinister backwards.

Hope watched his face and she couldn't help but take note of his eyes. It spooked her to see those emerald green eyes again and her heart began to thump even harder in her chest as she had one thought.

'_No, it can't be, it's impossible,' _Hope thought in abject disbelief.

Diana and Kara exchanged a nervous look. Some of those chemicals looked really flammable and the fact that Sinister fired optic beams back at Harry, it made things very dangerous.

'_If those chemicals heat up….yeah it's time to go,' _Karen stated in a frantic voice.

'_Opening a portal, no need to leave this to chance,' _Zatanna commented as she closed her eyes and channeled the mystical energies in the air.

The portal popped open and it allowed her to slip inside. The young enchanter was the first to slip through.

"I don't need to beat you," Harry told Sinister stated as he sensed the chemicals heat up and Sinister tried to take him down but Harry blocked his best attack and repelled it back at the Sinister with greater intensity.

Essex watched as his lab was about ready to go up around him and the chemicals, dangerous as they were, they were about ready to blow.

Harry gave him one more parting blast of heat vision and saw that his lifeline reader hit black, which meant that he was already dead on arrival.

He should have been dead a long time ago but he had used artificial means to enhance his life. Harry super sped out and vanished into nothing as there was a huge explosion around him.

X-X-X

"We have a problem."

Kara was the one to deliver those words to Harry, words that he despised so very much. The blonde looked extremely apologetic as Harry locked his eyes onto hers and Harry noticed that there was someone missing from their number. The young Herald of Death looked at his Alpha and there were only two words that spilled from his mouth.

"What now?"

Kara offered a smile to him. "Well you might notice that there's someone who should be here, is missing."

"Of course she is, but I could sense that she was disturbed out of her mind," Harry told Kara as he looked at his wife. "Poor kid, actually she's about eighteen or nineteen but the point still stands. She had a hard life so far."

"How can you tell?"

Harry smiled at Kara's inquiry. "I see the same haunted look in her eyes that I saw in the mirror in mine before I met you."

"Technically you didn't live that life, you know," Kara whispered to him but Harry put his arms around Kara and offered a smile.

"Technically I still remember living that life," Harry offered as he pulled his Alpha into a long kiss, as the other members of the Justice League stood anxiously around the two.

"Sinister's….well I don't see him anywhere," Diana informed them and Shayera offered her a frustrated grunt and she looked fiercely at Diana.

"Doesn't mean anything, if there's no body, then there's always a chance that he's out there," Shayera told her and Diana nodded, that was a rule of war. "Which means he's still out there, if there's no body, then it always means that they're still out there," Shayera told her and Diana nodded, that was a rule of war.

"I'm going to find our runaway," Harry told them and the girls looked at him.

They were about to ask how he could find her but then again, they realized that this was Harry. They would find a way to find her.

Harry stepped forward and threw his head back with a sigh as he teleported off with a slight pop and knew where he could find her.

Hope stood in the Arctic, the chill winds blowing in her face as she looked around nervously. There was a twisted knot in her stomach as she took in the sight that was in front of her.

She took a step forward and allowed the sights and the sounds to sink in at this moment. She saw the glowing Fortress, given her unique heritage, she could see it. She had seen wonders that many would only dream about and also horrors that still resided in her worst nightmares.

She felt a bit feverish but chalked that up to the drugs.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

Hope turned around and saw Harry standing there.

"No, please stay away from me, you people have done enough!" Hope shouted to him as she felt a throbbing pain in the back of her head.

"You've lived a hard life, haven't you?" Harry asked the woman and she got on her feet. Harry could sense some anger coming from her.

"Don't pretend that you care, don't pretend you…."

"I'm not going to pretend anything, but I know where you're coming from, you're getting chased by monsters but what you're really trying to escape is the demons in your mind," Harry told her and Hope watched him. "You're in a brand new world, where nothing is familiar."

"No, the world….trust me the world I'm in, it's not….it wasn't worth staying in the old world," she stammered although she wondered how much of that she really meant. Harry smiled as he watched her.

"You feel the pain, it's obvious that you do," Harry told her in a gentle tone of voice and the woman watched him, nerves racking through her body.

Hope wondered where he was coming from.

"It was…."

"You lost everything that you knew, even if the world that you knew, was not the most….friendly place," Harry offered, with Hope noticing that Harry switched out what he was going to say at the last possible moment and there was a nod of her head.

"I guess one could say that," Hope admitted as she kept her eyes locked onto his.

She held the Phoenix pendant in her hand, thankfully it was not lost. She was going to guard it with her life, it was all of her mother that she had left.

"What is it?" Harry asked her.

Hope shook her head. "You remind me of someone that I used to know, no big deal really."

"Oh, well, I think that we should get you back, run some tests on you, make sure that Sinister hasn't done anything to your head," Harry offered to the woman and Hope kept her eyes on him and decided to allow him to lead her away.

The healing process began with a single step and she was more willing to trust him. There was just something about those eyes that invited a certain amount of trust.

Her body was weak, the chemicals….

"What was he after?" Hope asked Harry.

"He was after the ability to dominate those around him in order to force them underneath his heel," Harry offered the redhead female and Hope's wide eyes watched him.

"That much," Hope told him and Harry smiled.

"It's time to go home," Harry offered her and there was a long pause as he held her. "If you want to…."

"Yes, I want to," she said with a smile as her heart gave a leap, a jump, and a hop. It nearly pounded through her ribcage as Harry grabbed her.

She felt dizzy so it was likely for the best that she get checked out. He grabbed her around the waist and brought her home with a solid pop that resounded outwards for all to hear.

X-X-X

"So….that was quite the mission?"

Artemis didn't do as much as she would have liked but she contributed a little bit. Performing crowd control on the outside along with Batgirl and Alex to make sure that the minions did not overwhelm the Justice League so they could get to Sinister, well she also shot an arrow at him, but that was the extent of what they did.

"They all are," Alex offered with a shadow of a smile as she leaned back and rolled her shoulders. "What a day."

Harry smiled.

"You can say that again," Harry offered as he showed up and he saw the newest arrival standing in the hallway. "Hey, Alison, how are you doing?"

Alison Blaire, the pop star and mutant heroine known as Dazzler, smiled.

"Better now that I'm here with you," Alison commented with a grin.

"Claire hasn't been bugging you, has she?" Harry asked her.

Alison smiled. "No, I've had excited fans before so it's really nothing that I'm not used to, it will be okay. You have a very spirited daughter."

"Yes, both of them are," Harry agreed.

"So another survivor of the lost world," Alison told him and Harry nodded. "I didn't expect….is she like us?"

"I don't know, if she is, she's not saying anything," Harry told Alison and the blonde nodded, as Harry watched her. "I guess we'll find out what she is, all too soon, for better or for worse. I'm still trying to figure out what I am half of the time so I can only imagine what she's like. She has this great cosmic power that could destroy entire star systems if she can be pushed enough."

"And Darkseid would kill to get that," Alison whispered and Harry raised an eyebrow. The pop star offered him a shrug. "Of course he would, obviously he would, that goes without saying."

"Yes, that goes without saying," Harry offered Alison as he put an arm around her waist and stole a kiss which she happily returned.

"We need all of the help than we can get," Alison replied as she leaned back. She had brushed up on her own abilities, she had some combat training that proved to be useful although being on tour, she didn't have as much time to train as she would like. She was hoping to fix all of that, immediately.

"Yes, but she has a long way to go before she recovers but she'll get there," Harry told Alison and the blonde pop start nodded.

"Strength builds in her mind, adversity is something that causes the best to be brought out of all of us," Alison told him as she locked eyes and hands with Harry. "So you met him, didn't you? You met, Sinister."

"I take the two of you met before," Harry told the pop star and she offered him a shadow of a smile as she kept staring in his eyes.

"Yes, we met and it was….we'll demented was not the word to describe what he is, he is after the genetics of the most powerful mutants out there and now that he's in this new world, I think that he has a lot of new subjects to play with," Alison said grimly.

"I was hoping that he would get popped off when I was in there," Harry stated to her and Alison smiled at him.

"That is a good hope although with Sinister, it's kind of too much to hope," Alison offered as she slowly let go of his hands. The blonde was about ready to lift her hand to the top of her head but stopped. That was a bad habit that she picked up when she was under a lot of stress. "He'll find a way out. Providing the one you took on was the real deal."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

"Clones, he tends to pull that trick a lot," Alison offered him with a slight shrug of her shoulders and Harry smiled with a nod.

"Figures, it's either clones, robots, or a clone of a robot," Harry said.

"Don't forget shape shifting alien," Alex chimed in helpfully and Harry smiled.

"Yes, there's that as well," Harry admitted. He looked at her and Alex watched him, a smile crossing her face.

"Hope's ready to speak to you I think or at least look you in the eye," Alex told him and Harry smiled. He was ready to enter the other room and find out all about this mysterious girl that appeared out nowhere.

Hope was sitting on the bed, cross legged dressed in a green nightshirt and reading a book.

"Hello," Hope told Harry with a smile, weak as it was.

"Hey," Harry offered her as he moved closer towards her. "How are you doing?"

"Better since I'm here," Hope admitted but then she looked back at him. "Still sore."

Harry watched her and he decided to make all pretext of anything resembling tact. "So, what's your story, seriously, what's…."

Hope offered him a tense smile but it was rather strained. "To make a long story short, I'm the daughter of an alternate version of you."

"Well, that explains the green eyes," Harry said but he paused. "Slightly different shade though."

"You noticed, no one notices these things," Hope offered to him with a smile. "Dad told me that I got them from my mother….she wasn't around, she died when I was young or maybe ascended to a higher plane because of some higher power. I got her gifts, you know, the Phoenix Force."

Hope paused as she sighed.

"It's a curse," Hope offered to him.

"It can be but it's what you do with the power that matters in the end," Harry told her and she smiled.

"Right, right, it is," Hope concluded as she felt herself opening up a little bit although it would be a long time before she felt truly at ease in this new world that she was in.

X-X-X

Sinister tried to recall what happened during the battle with the Herald of Death. It was not one that went the right way for him. In fact, his head had a certain amount of fuzziness. He wondered if the tables had been turned and he had been set up in a lab as an experiment of his own.

That would be twisted and very delightful irony if that was the case. He tried to sit up but found that he could not. His head was killing him and his eyesight was blurred. His body was numb as well so this was a series of events that would not be considered ideal in the slightest.

"I would not try to move if I were you."

That was the voice that sounded like Harry Potter but at the same time, it was not him. There was a few seconds where he tried to push his head up but failed and every nerve ending in his being exploded.

"I did warn you that the pain would be immense."

Sinister could not even lift his head enough to see who he was making a retort to but he had heard enough of the voice to piece together exactly who he was dealing with. His voice was smooth as if he thought that he was getting out of this in his own way and bringing down upon the heads of those who kept him here.

"Harrison Luthor I presume."

"Very good," Harrison replied briskly. "Shows that you have a moderate amount of intelligence, but do you have enough to not try anything that will drastically shorten your life span?"

Sinister turned towards Harrison and suspicion appeared in his eyes. "What are you….."

"Nothing major, well I suppose it's a matter of perspective. In fact it was something really minor for me to do, but then again I'm functioning on a different level then anyone else. I would imagine you know how that goes," Harrison offered in a cryptic voice. "I can see the wheels turning in your mind but I can tell you that trying to defy me will not end well for you at all."

Sinister kept his eyes on Harrison as he stepped forwards out of the shadows.

"Something happens to me. If I'm harmed in any way. You're going to die," Harrison offered in the most simple of terms as Ultrawoman and Fury took a few seconds to step out of the shadows to join and they nodded in unison at what he'd just said.

"So, treat this situation as if your life depends on it," Ultrawoman stated, her eyes glowing in an eerie manner as she gave Sinister a death glare.

"It appears you got me stuck then, unless you're bluffing," Sinister remarked but Harrison smiled as Sinister felt pain beyond anything that he ever felt before. To the point where he wished for a sudden death.

"You'll find that I never bluff," Harrison told him in an ice cold voice. There was a sense that Sinister might have bit off a little more than he could chew dealing with Harrison. The stare down between the two of them was creepy.

"There has to be a reason why you kept me here as opposed to killing me," Sinister offered Harrison and the smile crossed the young man's face. It was so cold that even Sinister felt the chill.

"Very good, you're finally catching onto the game," Harrison told him with a slight smile on his face, it was filled with the type of smug superiority that could only be learned after years of hard work and dedication. He saw Sinister try to lift his head up.

"So…."

"I'm sure you're going to ask how you fit into this situation," Harrison continued, as if Sinister did not speak.

The thought did cross through the mind of Nathaniel Essex.

"I've never been one to squander a resource," Harrison offered as he held the surgical tool in his hand. The shoe was now on the other foot. "Beautiful, isn't it? It can cut through any metal and despite the fact you have strengthened skin, it could cut through you as well."

Harrison paused.

"I have abilities beyond that of most people, abilities that people can only dream about," Harrison commented as he stepped back, inclining his spine as he rested against the wall. "And I have abilities to find out about certain things that would blow your mind."

"Do continue," Essex told him in a tone that indicated that he was very interested in what Harrison was saying. He found himself released but Fury grabbed him roughly around the throat. He could not shift out of her grip no matter how much he tried.

"Let this be perfectly clear, Mr. Luthor is not one of your science projects and if you even consider treating him like such….."

Ultrawoman offered a slight smile as she continued. "Well, I'm sure that your short term memory is up to par and you remember the demonstration from earlier. If not, here's a reminder."

She tapped the button and once again Sinister felt pain beyond all measure.

"If anything happens to any vital organ, that's the end of you," Ultrawoman remarked to him and she paused. "If I don't rip you limb from limb first."

"Sounds like you take your job seriously," Essex offered and Ultrawoman offered a ghost of a smile to the man before her.

"Deadly seriously," Harrison offered as he put the arm around the blonde who stared back at Essex with malice flickering through her eyes. "Stick to the plan, my plan, and your life will be extended. Fail and well….you will experience a fate that will be worse than death."

Essex knew that he was over a barrel, no matter how much he hated to admit it.

"So, what is your plan?" Essex asked him.

A smile crossed over Harrison's face and he watched the man before him. "It's elementary, follow me."

Essex followed Harrison, with Ultrawoman and Fury staying closely behind him. Both of them kept their eyes locked onto Essex as if he was their prey.

"Behold the future."

Essex saw what was behind the door and needless to say, he was intrigued.

X-X-X

"Oh, I'm not stressed, what makes you think I'm stressed?"

This extremely stressed out declaration came from Lois Lane as she turned her head towards Harry who was making his daily rounds at the Daily Planet office. He motioned for Lois to sit down.

"There's being dedicated to your work which you are and there is this," Harry told Lois, normally he might have found a little bit of amusement in her frustrations.

Lois tried to get her thoughts together, it had been a rocky last few months. Remembering what happened before the merger….well she wondered why she was so fortunate to remember. Harry and Kara told her it was due to the fact she had a strong will and due to that fact her mind was going to rebel against any rewritings of reality. The thought of that made Lois smile just a little bit, it did boost her confidence.

Of course, one could look at the merger in a couple of ways. Clark Kent, Kal-El, whatever you want to call him, he got a significant upgrade.

There was a small mean voice in the back of Lois's head that reminded her that Harry merging with Clark meant that he could have potentially got a downgrade. Although really, when one put things in perspective, it was the best aspects of both, merged together. Both Harry and Clark did have their flaws, granted, it was due to things that were beyond their own control.

Lois thought that flawed AI copies of parents should be banned but that was her. Although the real thing could cause someone to yank their hair out as well.

Of course there was a reason why she was stressed, so she had to break the news to Har-Rell very gently. It was a taxing effort to keep it blocked from him because Har-Rell had powers that both Clark and Harry could only dream about.

Harry could tell something was off and as Lois sat on the chair, he started to rub her shoulders and the back of her neck.

Lois closed her eyes; it was hard to focus on keeping her face serious when she felt so good. And his touches drifted close to certain parts of her body but they never actually touched. It was a tease, a torment, and those teases, those torments, they felt so good, Lois thought that her mind was about to come undone because of his efforts.

"What?"

Harry said that statement with a playful smile on his face.

Lois decided to change subjects, at least for the moment. The dark haired woman felt herself succumbing quite quickly to Harry's tender efforts, as he kept rubbing the back of her neck.

"Nothing just….ah that feels so good," Lois breathed as Harry kept working over her neck. "So….how is your newest guest?"

"Adapting," Harry offered to her with a smile as he looked up. "Hey, Iris."

"Hey, Harry," Iris said to him as she sighed. "Slow news day here. VRA talk has dried up since Luthor put a muzzle on Godfrey."

"But there's this Fisk guy," Lois protested, feeling that she was dodging the elephant in the room and given the size of Fisk, it is a pretty massive elephant.

"Yes, there's Fisk," Harry offered to Lois and he knew what the official story was with Fisk. He was figured into reality as a big time CEO for a major tech company and he contributed a lot of money to charity, which made him beloved in certain circles.

There was a vibe to Fisk that Harry did not like at all. There was a sense that he made a deal with the devil to get where he was.

"I've got to prepare to go in five minutes," Iris said to him.

"Well plenty of time for you," Lois chimed in.

Iris smiled, that was true but super speed or not, she needed a few moments to get into the proper mindset. She gave Harry a quick kiss before setting off in the other direction.

"The VRA isn't quite dead yet, you know?" Lois offered Harry, who smiled.

"No matter how many times a stupid piece of legislation gets cut down and proven to be idiotic, the government will find someone, anyone to have it enhanced and reintroduced in new and inventive ways," Harry said to Lois.

Lois smiled as she informed Harry of something that she just learned. "Did you know that Slade Wilson is holding a rally in Smallville next week to drum up support?"

Harry nodded, he had heard, Slade Wilson would pick Smallville, due to it having more super powered people thanks to the various meteor showers. Even though this latest one hit Metropolis, Smallville was still known as the Meteor Capital of the World.

"Yeah, I've heard, oh believe me, I've heard," Harry offered as he took the chair opposite Lois and filed through the news story.

Someone like Slade, he would have to have to have a past that was completely dark. The man looked to be middle aged on the surface, but it was obvious to anyone who know what to look for that he was built like a tank underneath his suit. Harry knew better than anyone else to look beyond the surface.

"The government is rounding up people," Lois offered to Harry and Harry smiled. "And they want the support of more people to get the VRA moving."

"Not going to happen," Harry offered, he would not support such an act even if he was paid money.

"The General thinks that it will help increase national security," Lois commented to Harry, breaking the news. "By the way, he's coming into town, tomorrow."

Harry raised an eyebrow, Harry Potter had not met General Lane but Kal-El had or technically Har-Rell had in the merged timeline. This could end up being a fairly interesting meeting.

"And I'm sure he's stopping by the Kent Farm," Harry told Lois and Lois nodded, with a smile.

"Yes, and he's bringing Lucy along for the ride, you know my sister?" Lois offered with a smile as she grabbed Harry's hand and he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it should be interesting to meet her," Harry commented.

'_Another notch on your bedpost,' _Chloe chimed in.

'_What do you think?' _Harry asked.

He needed to take care of things at Shining Light, including making sure that the branch on the East Coast that was set up would be up and running. Lana was over there doing the bulk of the work, with Harry figuring that it would give her something constructive to do.

The game was on.

**To Be Continued. **


	12. Chapter 12: Ravaged

**Chapter Twelve: Ravaged.**

The Vigilante Registration Act was something that was bound to be on shaky ground to begin with but never the less, there were some in the government who were determined to push this act through despite the fact that public opinion on whether or not it was a good thing was mixed on a good day. On a bad day, people thought it was a really stupid idea that was a waste of time and money.

Yet, there were people with agendas of their own to exert their own power. Vigilantes, super powered or otherwise, presented a threat to their own power. If someone saw an alternate to the government that was actually succeeding, they would feel like there was a threat.

Fear was one of the biggest things, fear that they would lose the faith of the people who they were supposed to serve. Instead of finding a way to rectify that matter, they were doing things to the contrary.

Then there were those like Slade Wilson who had his own agenda and was willing to take advantage of the fear with the politicians in Washington, the fat cats who didn't know any better. This was a fear that was being spread like a brush fire. There was a bit of smoke to these claims but there will be those who stirred things up. Paranoid people were going to jump on the easiest situation.

"I've lost family and where were these vigilantes?" Slade asked as he looked over the assembled crowd. His voice was calm and crisp. "I've fought for this country, spilled blood for this country, and spilled the blood of the enemies of this country. Some caped hero who is living out a comic book fantasy cannot take me down."

"General Wilson….what do you say to the claims that you're experimented on the meteor infected?"

"These meteor freaks should be held in containment for their own protection," Slade stated in a rough voice. "We're not experimenting on them, we're finding a cure. A cure for the disease that is infecting everyone. The aliens that brought their plague here twenty years ago will be taken down with extreme prejudice. They are terrorists to the highest degree and we must not encourage their heroics."

Clara Kent stood in the background, her hair was pinned back in a bun and she wore a pair of thick eyeglasses, giving off a bit of a clumsy demeanor that showed her awkwardness. She was dressed in a rather frumpy black skirt, a loose blouse and a jacket that looked outdated. She acted like she could barely walk around in these heels.

'_And people buy that act, but don't overdo it,'_ Alex thought to her.

Alex was dressed in a pair of black dress pants and a white blouse, with a pair of glasses. She wore a black wig that covered her hair, brown color contacts, and also a pair of glasses. She was hunched over a little bit to give the assumption that she was shorter than she really was.

"You smell a rat," Clara whispered to Alex.

"Several actually….and there's Wilson Fisk," Alex whispered to her as she kept her eyes fixed on the large man from a careful distance.

'_I was right, wasn't I?' _Harry asked Alex through the bond link.

Alex offered a long and labored sigh. _'Yes, Har, you were right, you're always right, I hate it when you're always right but you're always right.'_

'_It's nice to be appreciated,' _Harry commented to her with a slightly smug smile.

'_Don't get a big head,' _Alex warned her but she craned her head up so she could get a better look. _'And…..no sign of anyone else but Fisk.'_

'_He's moving over to Wilson, he could be another possible agent of the Darkness,' _Clara thought to her. She could sense that force thanks to Herald powers.

'_Our associates are in the crowd, there's Alison in the crowd, she's disguised as a government agent, representing Checkmate,' _Alex thought to them as she saw the blonde pop star, with a dark wig on and black glasses, dressed in black. _'She's acting as Slade's bodyguard.'_

'_A world class assassin doesn't need a bodyguard,' _Chloe thought with a snort and there was a pause.

'_So what did you dig up?' _Harry asked to Chloe, there was a lot of curiosity that burned through his mind and Chloe smiled a little bit.

'_Well this is just hearsay, so nothing that we can use to nail Slade to the wall, or rather not yet anyway,' _Chloe commented as she prepared to give Harry a full report on what she found. The blonde enjoyed keeping him in suspense at least for a moment. Chloe decided to continue. _'Does the name Deathstroke the Terminator ring a bell?'_

'_A couple actually,' _Harry confirmed grimly.

'_So, you're saying that Slade and Deathstroke are one and the same?' _Kara asked. To be honest, she believed it, with the blonde thinking about it. _'What do we really know about Slade the person?'_

'_Military man, had service in Afghanistan, has a daughter, had two sons but both of them died,' _Harry thought as he recalled. _'One of them died in the second meteor shower along with his wife.'_

'_No wonder he has a mad on for capes,' _Chloe thought and she paused. _'Not that it excuses what he did but….it's nice to figure out what makes these people tick.'_

Alex and Clara were waiting in the crowd they sensed something was going to happen although the yhad no idea what. They would not be surprised if Slade had caused an attack of some sort to prove a point, demented as that point may be.

'_So far, so good,' _Harry thought to both of the girls who nodded in agreement.

'_Not holding my breath for too long though,' _Clara offered to them as she scanned for any suspicious activity.

'_Daphne, Astoria, you're in position right?' _Alex asked to them through the link.

'_Right, and Nym always blends in as a face in the crowd given her gifts,' _Daphne informed them.

Harry had left the bond link traffic to check on something in the real world so he just missed Daphne and Astoria. The two blondes offered sighs.

Slade walked up to the podium after chasing hands with some of the politicians.

"The VRA has my vote, and I don't think that anyone should…."

CLICK.

CLICK.

BOOM!

Clara heard the explosion and she rushed over to try and push Wilson out of the way.

The smoke cleared as a young woman dropped down from the sky. She was dressed in a red and black mask that covered her face, which had the hints of silvery blonde hair poking out from underneath it. She wore a black and red outfit that wrapped around her body, although it was unsure how much of it was padding. She did have a nice set of C-Cup breasts and a tight ass and was the hint that she kept herself in pretty good shape.

"Don't move," she said as she held a dagger out and looked around, daring anyone to make a move. "The VRA is nothing but an attempt from a sad and pathetic man to live with the fact that he sentenced two of his children to death and could not keep his marriage together. Slade Wilson is nothing but an assassin, he's ended more lives than the heroes have saved combined."

She pulled out a sword as several of the goons rushed towards her. The woman swiped her sword and smashed it into the weapons of her enemies.

"You won't take me down, you won't silence me!" she yelled as she violently took out the guards. "You will suffer the pain of the Ravager!"

Ravager stared them down, ready to fight anyone who got in her way.

Slade watched, this was not in his plans and he was down. She could take him down.

"I could kill you," she told Slade.

"Then do it," Slade offered but she smiled and dropped a grenade before causing knockout gas to put everyone at the rally out.

"Then you won't learn anything," Ravager stated as she walked over and removed a flash drive from his pocket.

Alex, who feigned being unconscious, perked her head up. _'Damn, what did she take? Actually what did they have?'_

X-X-X

"So, Harry, I wish I was kidding, but you kind of need to be prepared to head into war with the General coming on by for a visit."

Lois said that in a slightly frantic tone.

"Lois, technically I've…."

Lois shook her head. "I know, I know, this entire thing, well he doesn't know what happened, he wouldn't remember, but I would know, I would remember if he remembered, and I'm trying to keep the official story straight in my head."

Harry's face twitched into a smile as he watched Lois. "Not as easy as it looks, to keep thing together, is it?"

"No, it isn't," Lois admitted with a slight sigh. That was the biggest problem with the change, there was an entire world that changed and she was part of the less than one percent of the people that remembered how things were before the changes.

She could remember both timelines, the one that she lived in and the reconstructed on with clarity.

"Just train your brain and ensure that you focus on the timeline that we both should be remembering," Harry offered to her and Lois frowned at him.

"Just how do you do it?" Lois asked Harry.

Harry offered her a slight smile. "There's very little from that old timeline that Harry Potter lived that I wanted to remember. Death really did try and weave the very best elements from both lives."

'_She did a fair enough job too, from what I remember,' _Chloe said to them. _'I like my role in the new timeline much better than the old one.'_

'_I'd figured you'd might,' _Kara offered with a grin.

'_Well yes, I did, much less drama for me,' _Chloe commented back as she leaned back with a smile.

'_So what are we going to do about this mess?' _Diana thought as Alex and Clara decided to chime in.

'_There was an attack on the rally, no one was killed, no one was even injured, even though the attacker had a perfect shot to blow Slade's head off,' _Alex informed them through the bond link.

'_Oh that's just great,' _Harry thought as he wondered if he was going to be dealing with one of those situations today.

'_It could have been a plan by those in charge of the VRA to drum of sympathy,' _Tess thought in frustration. That would be just like something those people would do, to play the sympathy card, even though they would be those who there would be a lack of sympathy for. _'I'll see what I can find out, if I can find out anything.'_

"Right, anyway, the General said that he would be at the Kent Home at sixteen hundred hours," Lois offered to Harry. "And there's one thing you can say about my father, he's punctual. He'd fight with two amputated legs through a hailstorm to make it there on time. And my sister….well she's dying to meet you."

Harry just smiled.

"Only if she behaves, although if she doesn't, we could correct her behavior," Lois offered to him and Harry's mind danced with the possibilities of what that could mean. "And the General will arrive in about seventy three seconds."

Harry just placed an arm around her.

"So super speed us over there I guess…." Lois started but no sooner did those words leave her mouth then did they appear inside the sitting room of the house. "Okay, that was faster than faster than a speed bullet."

"Magic, isn't it wonderful?" Harry asked with a smug.

Lois would have to agree and she had been dressed for the occasion, which she chalked up to another quirk of the magic of magic. The dark haired woman prepared herself for the meeting with her father imagining all of the ways that it could go wrong and she was growing with dread.

Knock on the door meant that D-Day was here, right on the dot, right on schedule.

"I'll get the door," Harry offered.

"Well it is technically your house, you might want to make a good impression," Lois stated as he moved in.

Harry smiled as he saw the grizzled old man on the other side of the door. "General Lane, it's good to meet you again."

"Mr. Kent-Potter," Lane stated in a gruff voice as he took a step forward. "I trust you've been treating my daughter the way she should be treated."

Lois rolled her eyes at the overprotective father act but said nothing.

"Of course, I would never do anything to the contrary," Harry offered with a smile to the General.

"Naturally, Daddy, Harry would be the type to treat a girl really well," another voice stated as a more visually appealing sight than General Lane manifested herself.

Harry smiled as he saw the youngest Lane sister. She had dark hair that went down past her shoulders, along with an alluring set of blue eyes. She was wearing a mostly conservative top, even though it did not suit her. Harry could still get a closer look at her thanks for his abilities. She wore a huge skirt that went down to her ankles, which was a shame given what Harry remembered from Clark's memories. She wore a pair of boots.

"Harry, it's so great to see you again, I've missed you," Lucy offered with a pouty look on her face.

It was really odd for someone who he had only technically met once to tell him how much she missed him but Harry was going to be someone who just rolled with the punches. His green eyes focused on her.

"Hey, Lucy, good to see you again," Harry told her keeping with a straight face.

Lois smiled, Harry was pretty good at keeping his mask on, but then again, she should have known. There were few people who knew the true Harry Potter, hell, she was not sure if Harry recognized himself sometimes.

"It's really good," Lucy offered as she leaned forward and offered him a slight kiss on the cheek.

Harry smiled, acting casually and turning away from her which caused a mild amount of frustration to course through Lucy. He may have also released some of the Herald of Death pheromones in the air to further stir her up.

"Lois, honey, why don't we lead your father and sister into the kitchen, I'm sure they've had a long journey?' Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry, dear, that would be great,' Lois offered as she turned around. "So how have you been, Daddy?"

"Fair enough, other than the attack today," General Lane grunted.

Lois acted like this was news to her. It did not officially reach the media.

"Now this is strictly off the record, you understand,' Lane told them and Harry and Lois exchanged smiles with each other.

"Of course, we wouldn't dream of breaching national security," Lois offered but then she fixed her face into "concerned daughter" mode. "So, what happened, seriously?"

Sam Lane began to tell both of them of what happened, as he lived it. Harry and Lois listened in an attentive way.

Harry could sense that there was someone watching the Lanes when they arrived and he prepared to protect his guests but also not reveal his hand, not yet anyway.

Ravager watched from outside, seeing that General Sam Lane entered. She gritted her teeth, another career military man who had forgotten what it truly meant to serve his country. Who treated people who saved the day like a terrorist who crashed a bus of orphans off of the cliff.

'_I'm watching and ready,' _Ravager thought.

There was another figure in the shadows, he was going to send more than a warning. The General was on his list.

"So aren't you going to tell them who I am or would that be spoilers?"

X-X-X

"So, I'm wondering why you haven't supported the Vigilante Registration Act?" Lane asked as he had his eye on Lois and Harry. Lucy stayed calm and innocent, although she was just sooner to let her father go. She was interested in who had the strongest iron will.

She kept sneaking looks at Harry but she had to stop when he caught her. It was so easy to get caught in his eyes.

'_Good, let her choke for it,' _Lois offered to Harry with a smile on her face.

'_You can get vindictive sometimes, love,' _Harry offered.

"Well, is this act really about the Vigilantes or really about covering up a lot of missteps on the part of the United States Government?" Harry asked the General and he paused. "You're following your orders, so you're only as good as the person giving them out. Did you ever think that the government did not have our best interests in mind?"

"The United States Government protects our freedoms, if it wasn't for them, the world would be overrun by aliens like Zod!" Lane showed as he banged his fist on the table.

Harry smiled. The government had no idea what happened to Zod and the Kandorians as much as the next person. They were taking a lot of credit for dealing with the threat.

"And what about all of the secret government facilities where they are experimenting on the meteor infected?" Harry asked.

Sam Lane watched Harry with beady eyes. "You might have the wrong idea about those facilities; they're simply to help those who got infected by these aliens."

"I'm sure that's what you're being told, and you have no reason to believe differently," Harry offered him casually. "But I've seen things, heard things differently."

"Yes, your Shining Light Foundation," Sam stated as he took a drink that had been offered him. "The VRA….we've seen people who could crush mountains, take out entire armies, and have powers that are only seen in science fiction. Do you really want these people running amuck?"

"It's better than the alternative," Harry offered.

"These people have helped others," Lois said to her father and there was an intense stare down. Harry was feeling what was happening around them in the room and the tension could be cut with a knife for sure. The wizard kept watching both Lanes go back and forth in an intense stare down with the other.

"Yes, like the Blur, we don't know who he is, what's his story, much like the faceless enemies that I've fought against," Lane said to Harry in a suspicious tone. "You know Lois, the company that you keep…"

"Harry's fine, he's better than fine," Lois offered to him. "And don't….you don't know what's happened. How many people have been saved, it's a whole hell of a lot, you know!"

"Do the American people really want this act?" Harry asked to Lane quietly. "I've seen people on the street, support has been mixed at best, lukewarm even."

"They're….not educated," Lane offered although he did hear of the problems with the act and people not wanting it.

There was a sense that he was thinking a bit more about this than at first and Harry thought that was good. Making him think about this would bring together some thoughts that perhaps this entire VRA thing was not good at all. And anyone who thought about the consequences where it would cause some kind of vigilante civil war should think long and hard about that.

Harry heard something outside.

'_We have another guest,'_ Harry thought to Lois.

'_What kind of guest?' _Lois asked to Harry nervously as she looked over her shoulder.

"Is there a problem, Lois?" her father asked and Lois managed to sit up immediately as she watched him.

"Oh, you know, it's just a long day at work, lots of stories coming in, this is a busy time in the world," Lois offered with faux cheerfulness.

Lane nodded although the military man himself had a sense that he was being watched by someone. Then again, he had a sense that he was being watched always, years in the service had pounded that thought in the back of his mind.

Lucy started to whistle a little bit.

"So now you're running things at the Daily Planet," Lucy offered Harry with a smile. "And the paper is so much better with you in charge. I mean, it was completely boring before you were in charge."

Harry smiled. "Thank you."

"Yes, although the anti-VRA stance that we could do without," Lane offered as he watched them. "Seriously, there are people out there who have lost many…."

"Heroes aren't perfect, you should know that considering that you are one," Harry said and the General was numb struck for a second.

There was a few seconds where everything went silent, eerily silent around the Kent Farm and there was a sense that this was not you normal silence. Then there was a sense that there was about someone to come a tapping at the door.

'_Stay alert,' _Harry thought.

"I just remembered that there's something at the farm, Lois, if you don't mind…."

"No, I understand that there are things that you need to do, to keep this place running, after all it does not run itself?"

"Do you need any help?" Lucy asked him and Harry smiled.

"No, I'm good but thanks for asking."

'_Mystery attacker, Ravager, whoever, she's at the barn, I'm going to find her,' _Harry thought and he paused. _'She's not alone.'_

'_Do you want me and Karen to…'_

'_If you can keep an eye out, that'd be appreciated,' _Harry thought as he slipped out, ready for battle.

X-X-X

Harry knew in the back of his mind that he was cruising for some kind of trouble although he did not know what. He made his way into the shadows and closed his eyes.

X-Ray vision was very useful, in connection with super hearing. He saw the person earlier, at least a glimpse of her.

He felt a ringing erupt in the back of his head but he shook it off. He kept his mind focused on the objective in front of him.

He was nearly in front of the person and he saw her in the shadows. Harry took another step towards her and reached forward, grabbing the individual around the waist and pulling her back into the picture.

"I….what….what are you doing?" she demanded as the woman underneath the mask looked at him, confusing ringing through her voice and dancing in her eyes.

Harry offered her a slight frown. "I suppose that I could say the same for you….Ravager, isn't it?"

Ravager frowned, she recognized him.

"This is not your fight against me, the person in there, he's just bait I'm trying to use to lure someone into a trap," Ravager offered to him. "There's someone….that Fisk guy….I feel it in my bones."

"You feel what in your bones?" Harry asked her, he knew no more now than he did earlier and he wanted to interrogate this person under the mask. If she knew something, he felt that he needed to know and know straight away, at least before it was too late. "Just who are you, who are you talking about?"

Before Harry could even react to her he heard something and it was a distinct humming, in the distance.

'_Lois, not to panic you or anything but I think that someone planted a bomb somewhere,' _Harry thought to her.

'_How did they get it past us?' _Lois asked and he waved to Kara and Karen who was taking control of searching on the ground for it.

'_I can hear it, I can't see it,' _Harry offered her.

Ravager was confused and she knew that fighting against a person who could stamp her like a twig would not be within her best interests. The woman's eyes lingered on him as she was thinking quickly.

"Where is it?" Harry asked her as he stared Ravager in the eyes and despite the fact that she was in a perilous situation, the woman did not back down. She tried to push out of his grip.

"Where is what, I don't know what you're talking about!" she shouted frantically but there was something that indicated that she wished she did.

"You don't know, you don't know," Harry offered as he felt some degree of panic enter his body but he said nothing other than that.

Harry heard the humming and Kara turned her head around, X-Ray vision following around the ground across from the Kent Farm.

'_I think I got something,' _Kara thought to Harry through the bond link and Harry nodded as he stepped forward.

There was a figure who teleported in front of him, dressed a similar outfit that Ravager was, although he was most certainly a guy and had two guns.

"So, Deathstroke, I presume," Harry offered and the man snorted in disbelief as he fixed his eyes upon Harry and pointed the guns at him.

"Please, Deathstroke, he's a hack, a two dollar rip off of the man, the Merc with ta Mouth, that's standing before you!" the person stated as Harry stared him down. "I know I can't take you down, standard hero speech, I won't get away with this, blah, blah, blah, and all that junk, you know the drill, seen it a million times, heard it a million more."

Harry could tell that he was dealing with someone who had more than a few screws loose and tried not to allow him to get psyched out.

"Wade Wilson, Deadpool, Merc with a Mouth, I've got a few fan boys on the Internet, you may have heard of me," Deadpool commented as he tried to go for Harry but Ravager knocked the guns out of his hands. He tutted angrily. "Well that was rude."

Harry blasted Deadpool off in the other direction, sending him flying head over heels. The Merc with the Mouth landed from the banishing charm.

"No more, no more, no….HA STABBY TIME!" Deadpool shouted as he pulled out a sai and tried to stab him but it bent off of his body.

Harry grabbed his hand and crunched it with his hand, slamming it back. The emerald eyes of Harry Potter flared with anger as he prepared to break this tool in two.

"Okay, okay, you're good, whoa, that was….wow that was….oh there's one thing that I've forgotten about and that's the bombs,' Deadpool offered as he tried to push himself back up but Har-Rell grabbed him around the wrist.

"Are you going to pull the trigger?" Harry asked to him as he removed the remote from his hand and crushed it in his hands.

"Hey, that's no fair, we didn't even have that long of a fight," Deadpool offered as he released a miniature gas grenade. "Well this isn't the end of me, this is only the beginning!"

Deadpool pulled out a gun and tried to blast it through the windows of the Kent Farm.

A beam of heat vision shot through the air and impacted the gun, along with burning Deadpool's hand.

Kara was on the job as she knocked the weapon out of the hand of the Merc With a Mouth. He gave a loud angry howl as the blonde bolted the weapon out of his hand and crunched it out.

Karen grabbed him around the throat.

"Um….hi," Deadpool stated as he got a good look at the assets and was distracted so much that he could not block a punch to the mouth

He nearly fell face first onto the breasts but Karen sped out of the way and he landed on the ground.

Harry stood over Deadpool and looked at him. It was obvious that he would like to kill him but there was something blocking him.

'_Okay, I'll bite, what's keeping us from killing this one?' _Alex thought as she grinded down on her teeth in frustration.

'_Another Death is protecting him,' _Harry informed Alex and Alex nodded. _'Apparently, we're not only Heralds of a version of Death but the circumstances are a bit different with him.'_

'_Yeah, circumstances, they're always different, that's just about right,' _Alex thought in a frustrated tone of voice as she bit down on her lip and offered a long sigh. _'I don't suppose….'_

'_Well the good news is I got the bombs diffused but our mysterious Ravager has slipped into the night but not before I got a quick peak who was underneath the mask,' _Harry thought to her as he slipped into the shadows because he could have sworn that he saw someone peaking out from behind the door of the Kent farm.

You could never be too careful.

It was one final sweep of the property but Kara and Karen did a good job at deactivating anything. Now that he knew who Ravager was, he did understand her motivations and also her reluctance to pull the trigger to kill Slade even though she was walking a tightrope between two sides of her.

He knew the feeling oh boy did he ever know the feeling.

X-X-X

"We dodged a bullet tonight," General Lane stated as he was informed of the near miss. "Damn lucky that you found the nutcase that planted the bomb, what was his name again?"

"Wilson, Wade Wilson," Harry told him and he waited for the obvious reaction.

"Surely he wouldn't be any relation to…."

The General talked over Lois for a second. "Now….it might have been the meteor shower that scarred him, changed him into that. General Wilson lost one son and one was never found, so this….what did you say he called himself again?"

"Deadpool," Lucy offered but she was on pins and needles. "So you were out there and you saw him didn't you?"

"I don't know who you could be talking about," Harry offered in an evasive voice.

"I think you know what you're talking about," Lucy commented as she pouted and fluttered her eye lashes at Harry. "Come on Harry, can tell me."

Lois smiled. "She saw the Blur. Well a blur of the blur."

"Oh yes, he helped me find the bombs and nearly stopped me from getting my head blown off by Deadpool when I disarmed him the first time," Harry informed them.

Harry paused.

'_Damn you Clark and your inability to lie, you're effecting my judgment,' _Harry thought, this was the first time that he had a Clark moment and would work hard to ensure that it did not happen again.

By some miracle, the Lanes bought it.

"But you must have seen him up close…"

"I think he saved your life, all three of you would have had bullets in your head or blown up," Harry stated to them. "Deadpool wasn't a vigilante, he was an assassin, someone paid him to knock you off."

"How do you know this?" Lane asked and Harry pulled out a piece of paper.

"He dropped this, General," Harry told him holding a piece of paper. "You'd be made a martyr and they'd force the VRA through based off of this. Deadpool was their puppet."

The General snatched up the piece of paper and took it into his hand, just taking everything into him. Words were something that failed him at this point as he continued to look at the paper. There was a real "read it and weep" expression that was in Harry's eyes and General Sam Lane's eyes continued to run over everything that he read with careful precision.

"Impossible," Lane spat as he could not believe it but the damning evidence was right in his face.

Harry was not going to say anything out loud but he knew in the back of his mind that Ravager's attack was not so much to target Lane but to save him. He wondered if a similar attack was made by on her father for reasons that Harry could not really completely figure out with picture perfect clarity.

'_Not many people could render my father speechless like that,' _Lois offered him.

'_Well I'm not many people,' _Harry replied back to her in a teasing tone of voice.

'_That's for sure,' _Kara chimed in and she decided to get back to business. _'I checked…..there's nothing, no bombs, nothing, it seems….'_

'_It seems like we got them all,' _Chloe offered to them and she felt a burst of relief at that. That was her family in there. If she was not so tied down with what she had to do, she would have joined them. _'So is Lucy making her move?'_

'_I think I've made my impression,' _Harry offered Chloe with a smught smirk and Chloe returned fire from where she was sitting.

'_I figured as much, the only reason that she didn't jump you….well you see him sitting right in front of you….actually he's making his way out the door.'_

"My apologies for cutting this trip so long, I have to return to inform Slade of the attempt on his life and the mole on the inside," Lane stated as he took his leave.

'_Kara, Karen, make sure no one else tries anything but be discreet,' _Harry thought to them.

"Right, good luck then," Harry told the General and he offer a slight grimace of a grin.

"Luck has nothing to do with what I'm going to do," he offered them as he turned and walked away.

That left Harry alone with Lois and Lucy.

Lucy smiled, she had been thinking about it all night.

'_I wonder if she wants something because I have it or if she has any genuine interest,' _Lois thought as she picked up a few echoes of her sister's thoughts.

'_Oh, I'm sure she's interested, most females are,' _Harry remarked to her.

'_Well, you're the pinnacle of all modesty,' _Chloe commented dryly through the link as she leaned back. _'Oh in case you're wondering, Lana and Alicia are smoothly working on the Shining Light Foundation facility on the east coast.'_

'_That's good,' _Harry offered to Chloe with a smile on his face and he prepared for the next phase of his plan.

X-X-X

"Thank you for letting me stay the night, I know I must be a bother," Lucy offered to Harry as she watched him. She was dressed in a thin bathrobe after just having come out of the shower. Her hair was dripping wet as a towel was wrapped around it. Harry could tell even without using his X-Ray vision.

"No, it's not a bother at all," Harry told her with a slight smile as he drank in everything this female had to offer and she had to offer a fair bit.

"But I want to thank you, so much," Lucy offered as she batted her eyelashes.

Lois turned up next and she looked fairly amused as she arrived outside. She saw her sister before Harry and decided to have a little fun with the situation.

"What can you offer, Harry, Lucy?" Lois asked her sister and Lucy smiled.

"Well it depends if what I can offer him is better than what you're offering," Lucy stated in a slightly smug voice.

'_Yes, I think she needs a spanking,' _Lois thought to Harry and Harry smiled at the thought of taking a piece of that nice tight ass. _'I figured you'd like that.'_

'_Well that goes without saying,' _Harry offered.

"Lucy, you've been a very naughty girl, you know," Lois told her and Lucy's eyes widened as Lois got that look on her face.

It was now that Harry noticed that Lois was wearing a negligee that barely covered what needed to be covered, wrapping around her amazing breasts. He saw her smooth stomach and also her amazing legs were covered with thigh high stockings.

"I think you're going to get a spanking from Harry and you're going to like it, then we'll see what else you can do," Lois breathed in her sister's ear.

Lucy was not going to lie, she was getting positively wet from the anticipation of what Harry was going to do and he scooped her up in his strong arms.

Then with another fluid motion, Harry super sped her into the opposite room, a smile crossing his face as he set her down.

"It's time," Harry whispered in her ear, a statement that got her pussy to twitch.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends. **

**To Be Continued In the Next Chapter. **


	13. Chapter 13: Laughs Last Part One

**Chapter Thirteen: He Who Laughs Last Part One. **

Gotham City was one of the cities in the world that had an immense amount of character to it. That character was often times not the good type or the type that inspired a great deal of warm fuzziness. It was an acknowledged fact that there were some depraved and disturbed individuals within the Gotham City limits.

Of course, in the midst of the mobsters, crazed serial killers, corrupt cops and general misfits, there was a certain group of criminals that were of a higher class. They got special attention from the media due to their antics. Whether or not their crimes were a series of riddle themed death traps, inspired by Alice In Wonderland, or any other theme, it was obvious that there were some inside the city that took a bit of pride in their work. One would almost think that they took too much pride in their work.

The latest crime spree was amongst the most crazed the city had ever seen and the person behind it didn't seem to be operating with a full deck. Police were baffled and more importantly, Batman was completely baffled.

All with the mastermind behind this scheme laughing all of the way, as the police were left with their thumbs up their asses, unable to figure out the motives behind his crime.

The Gotham City fine arts museum was open this night to display some of the best and most exclusive art in town. The cost of this artwork displayed was far more than most people would make in a year's time. It was a rather snooty sort that was out and about.

A man dressed in a black trench coat with a scarf and sunglasses covering his face looked at the bust and shook his head. The bust had pointed ears.

"Some people have no taste," he said with a somber tone in his voice causing the artist standing nearby to frown.

"That is my life's work! A bust of the legendary and mysterious Batman!" the artist commented in a pompous voice filled with indignation as his eyes darted around.

"Then it's a fine life that you wasted," the man in the trench coat stated as a couple of security guards dropped to the ground from the gas that was slowly pumped in through the vents. The artist and the trench coated man still had their eyes fixed on each other and the Artist looked like someone kicked his puppy in the nuts. "Ah, there's no need….no need to be sour my dear boy….SHAKE MY HAND!"

The man in the trench coat extended a hand and the Artist considered the handshake for a moment before he paused and stared down the man with a great deal of wariness in his eyes. After all this was Gotham.

"What's the worst that could happen?" the man in the trench coat asked with his hand still extended forward. At a moment the Artist finally took the hand only for a loud zap to be heard as fifty thousand volts of electricity was channeled directly into him, the man in the trench coat gripping his hand tightly to keep the Artist from letting go as he was electrocuted to a crisp. "Ahahaha...Actually that?...That's the worst that could happen."

The chuckle escalated until it reached a maniacal pitch that echoed outwards in every direction as the electrocuted man dropped dead to the ground. The joy buzzer packed quite a punch after all, the scarf came off to reveal sallow white skin.

Haunting acid green eyes were behind the glasses, wild green hair appear out from underneath the hat. A sadistic grin fixed into a permanent expression of malice and menace stretched obscenely across his chalk white face. He had a purple suit on with a green flower that squirted acid in it. He had fingerless gloves.

He was a man that needed no introduction but yet he commanded one anyway. He was the clown prince of crime, the one, the only, the infamous Joker!

The Joker stood with his henchmen who walked forwards, carrying axes and flamethrowers.

"You think that this art! This tacky, pretentious crap?" Joker asked as he looked around at everything and tutted in a disappointed manner. "This is dime store, bargain basement crap that wouldn't even pass as shit in in the commode."

"Hours of work for this! It's really quite depressing. Gentlemen, let's broaden our minds!" He took up a can of green paint and moved in the direction of one of the paintings.

He hurled the green paint at the canvas, splattering it. He looked at the work, a satisfied smirk on his face as he turned around to his men.

"Now that! Gentlemen, that's art!"

There was a loud round of applause as the Joker surveyed his pride and joy. He snapped his fingers and his men went around the room, with axes in hand and spray cans, changing the so called art into something more fitting.

The Joker had a health scare recently, his latest attempt to gas Gotham had left him with a shortness of breath. It taught him to appreciate life even more and he was appreciating it.

The doctor gave him seven months to live, he gave the doctor seven seconds. It should be obvious who was right out of the two.

Yet, the crowning caper of his criminal career was to come.

"Gentlemen, I bring you exhibit A of how tacky is this," Joker stated as he put his hands on the bust of Batman. "I mean, this is supposed to art but it has no spirit, no imagination, it's nothing but lifeless drek. I mean, what's the motivation here? Nothing but brooding darkness. I get more life from an emo teen's poetry on MySpace."

The Joker laughed insanely before pulling a hand held detonator device out of his jacket pocket. It was almost like he planned this out.

"You want to see art?"

There were a few nods from his men, as well as the fearful crowd hoping that if they went along with it the insane bastard would leave them alone, as the Joker looked around from one side of the crowd to the next and waited for some people to answer even though the question was one that was fairly rhetorical.

"Of course you do!" The Joker stated in a gleeful voice as he rocked back and forth from one foot to the other as his rictus grin spread even further over his face.

He pressed a button.

BAM!

The statue exploded and the image of Batman crumbled to dust, to reveal the one of The Joker.

"I do like making a crime out of art or maybe it's the art of crime?" Joker mused as he looked towards his image with a smile. "I can never tell.

A loud and insidious laughter echoed and the Joker's grin got even wider as he looked at the bust. It was a day well done.

Yet, he was beginning his crime spree, his bucket list of terror which would end with one thing. If he was going to go out, he was going out by dragging Batman with him straight to hell.

"We better go, it's not time for the Bat, not yet, I want to make him choke for it," The Joker offered as he giggled then detonated some explosives which released both paint and Smilex, causing the guards and the patrons to be left with nothing but smiles.

X-X-X

"This might be the premier business event of the year and they hold it in Gotham City of all places. Someone wasn't thinking this through."

Chloe made this comment as she read over the piece of paper that she held. The truth was she was intrigued by what she had in front of her and also she was a slight bit suspicious. The fact that she was intrigued outweighed the fact that she was suspicious.

Tess looked at it too; she knew that there might be some problems, although she had no idea what exactly they would be. Even after some poking around, her and Harry had no clue what Harrison was doing.

"Well, it doesn't smell of a trap but our golden child of LuthorCorp's going to be there," Tess said to Chloe as judging by the expression on her face, she didn't consider that to be glowing recommendation in the slightest. She held the paper in her hand and scanned it critically.

"It could be a trap, but he could be doing something that looks like a trap to make us all paranoid" Chloe stated.

"Claire, I told you that the circumstances are different!"

"This is unfair!"

'_Oh boy, parental headache at twelve o'clock,' _Chloe thought as she heard the pitter patter of a teenager stomping off in anger. She recognized it because despite being mostly level headed, there were a few times that she did it.

Kara made her way into the office while offering a frustrated sigh.

"Okay, we need to find a way to make sure that Amanda doesn't grow up into a teenager," Kara offered her frustration obvious in her voice as she followed Harry who shook his head.

"Sorry, Kara, circle of life, it has to happen," Chloe offered as she looked at Harry. "You look…."

"Teenage problems, I wasn't that bad when I was a teenager," Harry said to her even though it was pretty obvious he was lying to himself. "Can't she see that…."

"Well, a part of her might be able to see, but a bigger part of her doesn't really care," Artemis offered as she showed up at this moment. "Then again, you did let another surrogate daughter go out on a dangerous mission more than a couple of times."

Harry and Kara opened their mouths to protest but Artemis shook her head and cut them off.

"I know, said sixteen year old can move mountains and crack the moon. But still, try explaining that to a super powered teenager when hormones run rampant," Artemis offered with a shrug. "You should have seen the fit my mother threw when she found out that I'd started to play superhero."

Then again, given what happened with her sister and her father, it was obvious that her mother wanted as normal of a life for Artemis as possible but she could have been drawn to the darker side.

She had seen her sister one time in passing and awkward did not begin to cover their meeting. Eight words were exchanged, barely enough to qualify as a conversation. Then they tried to stab each other.

Her mother died a couple of years ago, caught in the crossfire of a battle between the various gangs of Gotham City. She was another statistic. She never knew who pulled the trigger to off her mother and Artemis honestly did not want to know. Revenge wouldn't solve anything.

"Claire needs to understand that…"

"Looking out for her best interests," Chloe said in a sympathetic voice. "Did you explain the fact that Granny Goodness is kidnapping teenage girls and brainwashing them for her unholy army?"

Harry crossed his arms and said nothing although his expression said everything.

"Think about….no actually tap into the Clark portion of your mind and think about that would come across to her…."

"We're doing the right thing," Kara persisted stubbornly, the Brainiac incident where he kidnapped Claire and nearly killed her flashed through her mind and she wanted to avoid a repeat of that if she could.

"I don't doubt you are," Chloe offered as she waved off the anger. "Teenagers though, they don't care about the right thing, they are ruled by their emotions."

"Which is even better reason not to put her out in the line of fire," Harry stated to her.

"Weren't you the one…."

"Yes, yes, and yes," Harry offered, shooting down Chloe's statement. "But my circumstances were completely different. I had no choice, Claire has a choice, I never did."

Harry refused to say anything more about this. Claire would cool down in time. She went over to the Kent Farm or the Talon like she did whenever she need to blow off steam. M'Gann or Lois could keep an eye on her for him until he could approach her.

""We're heading to Gotham City for this banquet," Harry told Tess and Chloe offered a surprised blink of her eyes.

"Oh…we…"

"Yes, we are," Tess said, she wanted to see what the person who usurped LuthorCorp out from underneath her was up to. So far Tess had been unable to do anything to get the company back no matter how hard she tried.

"Wilson Fisk is going to be there too," Harry said as he read the paper and Diana showed up.

"Fisk you think…."

"Well this will give us a chance to get a closer look at the man himself," Harry told the Amazon and Diana nodded with a smile. "Shall we?"

Diana served the role of his bodyguard and she served it well. It was going to be a who's who of Gotham City finest, where the rich and famous would show up to be seen.

Harry would almost insult everyone if he did not put in a token appearance to this amazing event. Plus there would be a few people there that he was interested in meeting, although perhaps not for good reasons. Still he was interested in keeping an eye on many of the people that would be there.

Diana, Tess, and Harry made their way to Gotham City.

It could be a night to remember for all involved.

X-X-X

The glorious event taking place in Gotham City was what everyone expected it to be and then some. The elite were out tonight and the man front and center of it was Billionaire Extraordinaire himself, Bruce Wayne.

Bruce had to play the roll tonight but in the back of his mind, he was thinking about the crime wave that the Joker was going on. Much like many of his crimes in the past, they appeared random but there were rumors, whispers, in the Gotham City underworld that the Joker was dying or at least he thought that he was. That was something that made him more dangerous now than ever before.

It was a powder keg just waiting to explode, one wrong step and everyone could end up getting caught in the blast. He checked out everyone as they went into the party. Some of these individuals were guilty of criminal activity.

"Mr. Wayne."

"Mr. Luthor I presume?"

"Ah yes, you presume correctly," Harrison offered Bruce Wayne. "I understand that you've been actively trying to get the Vigilante Registration Act shut down?"

"Yes," Bruce offered, he knew that the act would create more problems than it would solve. The criminal element would be allowed to roam free and that made the mission even harder than it already was. Crime was never ending, never yielding.

"It seems like the business world is mixed on whether or not this is a good act," Harrison commented as he took a sip of the wine that was offered to him by a passing waiter, although he made sure not to leave his fingerprints on it. "My bodyguard will ensure that no enemies try and attack me here."

"You've been attacked?" Bruce asked.

"Haven't you?" Harrison asked, he knew who Bruce Wayne truthfully was naturally but he decided to play his game, at least for now. "This is Gotham City, there is a criminal clown on the loose."

"He may be an urban legend, much like the Batman," Bruce offered as he offered a mock shudder. "Why would someone want to dress up like a creature of the night, when he could be the life of the party?"

"My sentiments exactly, Bruce."

A man with silver hair appeared. He had blue eyes that showed a false sense of civility and generosity. He looked like an average middle age or older businessman but he was capable of a lot of mean spirited things.

"Simon Stagg….I believe our companies have a meeting to discuss business, Mr. Luthor," Stagg said as he offered his hand for Harrison to shake.

"Yes, I recall," Harrison said. Stagg had resources that he needed even if the man himself was a piece of work and had done some damage to the environment.

"Although I'm disappointed certain people are fighting the VRA," Stagg commented. "Isn't it best for business?"

"How so?"

Stagg decided to clarify his statement. "If the vigilantes stood back and let the police do their job, there would not be collateral damages and that damage costs me money. I lost millions of dollars when that flying rodent known as Batman destroyed one of my projects. Why did he destroy it? Because he decided to play hero against a gang."

"Well what is the government trying to do to eliminate the criminal element?" Harrison asked as he leaned against the wall.

Harry, Tess, and Diana turned up to the party at this moment.

'_Simon Stagg, well there's someone who's dirty,' _Tess offered to them through the bond link.

'_How dirty is he?' _Harry asked them through the bond link and he clutched his fist together at the thought of everything.

Tess whistled as she decided to offer.

'_Well, it's Gotham City, so there's no such thing as a clean businessman remember,' _Tess thought as she paused and looked around. _'What is that mysterious ticking noise?'_

'_I don't know….but I don't like it,' _Harry thought, he could make it out faintly so used his super powerful hearing to try and scope out the area around him further although he couldn't shake the feeling that he was stepping into the lion's den.

If nothing else, his heart sped up a tad amount and beat against his ribcage with a thunderous fury.

'_Okay, something's up,' _Harry offered in a frustrated voice, he knew that whatever was coming would end up going badly for someone.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Mercer."

Bold as brass, Harrison Luthor slipped over to stand face to face with the two.

"Mr. Luthor," Harry offered crisply.

"It's an interesting night, all of the elite are out, I wasn't sure that you'd be able to make it," Harrison offered him.

There was a second where Diana went face to face with Diana but there was a loud ringing sound as the loud speaker went off, with a loud and taunting voice.

"Lies, Lies, Lies, THIS IS A PARTY OF LIES!"

Bruce looked around and he recognized that voice along with the insidious laughter that followed it.

Harry heard the grinding and the ringing of the mysterious ticking noise. He tried to lock onto the source.

There was a box that was rolled in by three men in clown costumes.

"Time for some party favors!" one of the clowns cheered as he tapped his fingers.

Harry stepped forward but the jack in the box sprung out.

Stagg was next to it and he looked at it.

"What's this nonsense?" Stagg asked as the mouth of the clown opened up and sprayed him with a gagging cloud of gas.

Stagg fell back, laughing like a mad man, his eyes bulging out.

"Well good old Stagg is smiling!" The Joker laughed. "I don't want your money, jewelry, first born children, or any tacky crap like that. I've come here to liberate you from the shackles of your sanity! Into a world of full and utter madness and I don't mean to burst your balloons….but I think that I will."

The Joker's laughter was the prelude for balloons, literal balloons, bursting one at a time.

Harry raised his hand from the shadows and managed to prevent the gas from going out into the room and infecting everyone inside.

"HEY NO FAIR!"

The Joker was pretty much pouting.

"Someone's a party pooper….good thing that all of your expensive cars will be nothing but paperweights."

A loud explosion resounded from the parking lot causing the glass around them to shatter from the force and the flames rising up from the destroyed cars could be seen quite clearly from the windows of the room they were in.

Bruce watched, the Joker played the game but he had a feeling that this was a diversion.

X-X-X

'_So, the Joker,' _Harry thought in a somewhat focused but also somewhat stressed manner as he kept his hand fixed on the wall. Needless to say the event was cut short and Fisk slipped out before Harry could get a good look at him.

'_Well, from what I heard, he isn't very funny,' _Chloe offered in a more serious voice._ 'He kills more people in a few days than most could have in a month.'_

'_Sounds delightful,' _Kara commented as she closed her eyes._ 'Why hasn't anything been done to stop him?'_

'_He pleads the insanity defense every time and gets sent to Arkham Asylum,' _Chloe offered as she brought her hand up to the side of her face but dropped it to check the Shining Light Foundation computer.

Diana decided to chime in with a statement of her own. _'Who is he really?'_

'_Well….that's the thing isn't it, no one knows,' _Chloe offered them.

'_Really, no one knows?' _Harry asked, he found that really hard to believe. There had to be something on him, fingerprints, dental records, anything that would point to the identity of this man. At least that's what he thought but he wondered about it more as time went on.

'_That's what I said, no one really knows,' _Chloe said as she really wished that she could offer more information to Harry than she was but she could not._ 'I've been combing through these Arkham records…..but there's nothing on him concrete. He has about nine different documented back stories, two which stand out more than the others but when called upon it, he says he prefers his past to be multiple choice.'_

'_I wonder if he even remembers,' _Karen offered with a sigh.

'_Someone like that, somehow I doubt that,' _Harry offered to his wives with a shrug of his shoulders._ 'Is there any reason for the crimes that he's committing?"_

'_I wish I could figure it out but I can't,' _Chloe commented with a frustrated tone to her voice as she went through everything they had on The Joker.

The Shining Light Foundation computer was pretty handy more often than not but it did have a number of grand flaws the more that Harry thought about it.

'_Okay, I suppose that I could ask the lifeline reader what's up with our jolly jester friend?' _Harry asked as he closed his eyes and thought about it.

'_I don't know, would it be that easy?' _Chloe asked and Harry offered her a hint of a smile.

'_It's worth a shot, anything's worth a shot really,'_ Harry offered her as he began to work through what he had to do.

Harry's breath escaped from his mouth with a long sigh and he offered the question to end all other questions.

"**Tell Me, who is the Joker?"**

Harry waited for the answer, even though he should have known by now that he might not like the answer that came in from the other end.

"**The Joker is a common card in the playing card deck. "**

Harry closed his eyes as he wanted to bang his head against something and he let out a long sigh from his lips. The green eyes of Harry Potter flashed with irritation.

'_Yes, I know…I know,' _Harry commented to himself and the Lifeline Reader as there was a few sets of snickering through the link. _'Tell me about the Gotham Criminal known as the Joker.'_

Harry kept his eyes closed as he thought about it.

"**Inconclusive set of information."**

Harry sighed as he figured that much when he factored in how damn useless the Lifeline reader had been so far.

'_Guess we're still in the dark,' _Chloe offered in a frustrated voice.

'_Yes, no kidding,' _Harry commented to the blonde as he tried to get everything back on track. The young wizard kept his mind focused on the situation at hand._ 'Okay, that's fine, we're in the dark, I'm used to being in the dark.'_

Harry tried not to allow this to frustrate him, even though it was going to obviously be a frustrating thing.

There was the one statement that came right back into the back of his head. No matter how many times he ran through it in his mind, he was frustrated with the wicked, twisted energies that flowed in the back of his mind.

'_What is he playing at?'_

Diana stood next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. Harry turned around towards her and she offered him a smile on her face.

"Don't worry, we'll figure this one out," Diana commented as she placed her hand onto Harry's.

"I guess that brings Harrison Luthor to the back burner for now," Tess offered as Harry nodded.

"Don't worry, this is just a more pressing problem," Harry commented to them as he held both of the females in his arms who nodded in agreement.

The Joker attacked but there was something about the attack that annoyed him for some reason. There was something that was completely and utterly hallow about it. The wizard placed his hands on a railing which he leaned against then looked out onto the city below, many different thoughts going through his head.

Perhaps he needed to talk to someone who knew how The Joker operated a lot better then he did and track the Dark Knight Detective of Gotham City. Although knowing him, Harry figured that Batman would find him more likely than not.

The night was still young and Harry looked out onto the parking lot full of destroyed cars. That didn't seem to be right.

His instincts were right more often than not.

And right now they were screaming out to him that something was wrong.

It was time for Harry find him, the young wizard made his way out with Diana and Tess following behind.

As it turned out, Harry's instincts were more than right.

X-X-X

"So what are we going to do now?"

That was the statement that was given by Robin and the Dark Knight turned his head around slowly and gazed upon him.

"We're not going to be doing anything," Batman stated to Robin harshly.

"Why?" Robin asked as Batman stared him down.

Batman kept his eyes locked on his protégé, there was a sense that he didn't want to be argued with right now and Robin was pushing at him more then he would liked right now.

"If you go out there, you're going to get killed. The Joker isn't playing around this time," Batman offered him.

Robin glared at his mentor, eyes narrowed in anger "I've been trained for this…."

"You're not ready to face The Joker. So you're sitting this one out, don't question me," Batman ordered.

"He's starting to get to you."

Arcane stepped out of the shadows behind Batman.

Batman turned and found himself face to face with Arcane for the first time since the merger. His strong will indicated that he knew the merger happened. He chose not to think about it too much though because cosmic rewrites did not fit his world of logic and deductive reason.

If Batman had a sense of humor, he would have realized the fact that he hung around Gotham City and dressed up as a giant bat was something that contradicted his logic along with his deductive reasoning. The Dark Knight Detective held his head up into the air and narrowed his eyes as he took Arcane in.

"I figured you'd be here," Batman offered Harry. "Merging with him has caused you to slip."

"Well, perhaps it's given me a new sense on life," Harry said to him. "You've been after the Joker for a month, more?"

"Five weeks, six days, two hours, seven seconds," Batman offered with a grunt.

Harry smiled. "There you go."

He thought about everything that was on the line and he knew that there was a few things that had to be done.

"He's running around in circles, there has to be a pattern for his crimes."

Batgirl turned up and Batman turned towards her.

"I've been doing some research and each of the events was sponsored by one of the twelve richest people in Gotham City," Batgirl offered him.

"And that's a false trail."

Batgirl frowned at that as she stood there with her hands on her hips in frustration. He just shot her down so harshly and so quickly that she had to question it. "How do you…"

"I know," Batman offered as he hung over the side of the building.

Batgirl turned slightly to see Harry and Diana standing there, with Tess off to the side. Harry looked at her and decided to break the news to her.

"He does have a point," Harry offered her and Batgirl could have smacked herself in the back of the head.

It was a trick, in the chaos, there had to be some kind of pattern although the redhead was trying to pinpoint every step of it. She was a budding detective and she had to analyze the problem from every corner. The redhead calmed noticeably as she felt Harry's hand on her.

"If it makes you feel better, I haven't figured out what he's doing either."

Barbara was about to open her mouth and respond to that but there was a loud round of laughter that resounded out through Gotham City. Said laughter got louder, louder, louder, and there was a loud echoing.

"Is he going to…"

That statement was cut off as the Joker came on.

"Testing, testing, one, two, three, is this thing on?"

The Joker offered a loud round of laughter as the feedback loop resounded.

Batman was already tracing the signal but it was easier said than done. He kept trying to pinpoint the source.

"Greeting Gotham! I'm sure you've all been wondering what I'm up to, this entire tour of crime, the Last Laugh tour if you will. You see, I've gotten some very bad medical news. It appears that my lifestyle is finally catching up with me. All of the cigars, all of the toxins, all of the savage beatings and broken bones from a grown man dressed up like a giant flying rodent, it's really starting to catch up with me."

The Dark Knight stood and listened.

"Well today is the two year anniversary of the accident that made me the cheerful soul that I am today," Joker commented with a giggled. "You know, it's been too long but not long enough, not long enough, but why even split hairs, it's time, it's time for a celebration!"

Harry tried to use his super hearing to lock onto everything around him but there was another huge ringing that resounded through the back of his head.

'_Any luck, Chlo?' _Harry asked his wife through the bond.

'_There's about twenty different signals, I'm trying to isolate where it's originating from but that's not going to be easy,' _Chloe offered as she closed her eyes.

'_Don't stress out, we'll figure it out,' _Harry offered but he leaned in to listen.

The Joker was ready to give his next statement.

"I've kidnapped twelve Gotham City politicians. While I'm not sure that they'd even be missed, considering they're all crooked as a bent coat hanger," Joker informed any within listening distance as he turned his head around and laughed. "Despite that, when the clock strikes midnight, when I blow out the candles these politicians and half of the city, they'll get blown up with them."

The loud laughter of the Joker could be heard from all around as Harry, Tess, and Diana exchanged tense looks.

From the shadows, Harrison Luthor and another figure watched.

They would make their move soon.

**To Be Continued. **


	14. Chapter 14: He Who Laughs Last Part Two

**Chapter Fourteen: He Who Laughs Last Part Two. **

"I don't know why he thinks he can forbid me from going on my own independent mission. For one, I'm not his sidekick and two, I'm an adult. I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions and if I screw up, well they're my own stupid decisions aren't they?"

Barbara offered this statement in an huffy manner more common to a young teen. The young detective in training was hunched over with the redhead taking in a deep breath. Harry grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in close to him.

"Well, this Joker thing is causing him to lose his mind," Harry offered and Barbara raised an eyebrow at him. Harry offered her a bit of a smile. "I know that's not an excuse but it is what it is."

"Yeah, I know," Barbara agreed with a long sigh as she kept her eyes locked onto Harry's.

The problem was that they had no way of tracking the Joker down. If they could, this would be a whole lot easier. The young redhead turned her head and offered a sigh towards them.

Diana could tell that this was a different kind of insanity than they were normally dealing with. The fact of the matter was that the Joker did not operate by the same rules of anyone sane. The Clown Prince of Crime was someone who she did not relish having to go up against.

Harry placed a hand on the elbow of his wife and she smiled at his touch. The dark haired woman pushed her head back and offered a lengthy sigh.

"So…."

"We've got to find out who he took," Harry told her as he offered the one statement. "The only problem in a place like Gotham City, crime is so rampant that it's hard to pinpoint every single instance of it."

There had to be hundreds of missing person's cases in Gotham each and every day, Killer Croc alone had been responsible for a quarter of the homeless population going missing the last time he had escaped Arkham. On top of that, there almost always appeared to be a gang war going on and that caused more than enough problems.

Barbara could make out the police presence in the streets below, straining her eyes as she took it in. Tess stood behind her, this was going to be a practical exercise in utilizing her powers and training.

"What are they doing?" Tess asked, before she remembered that she had super powered hearing so she focused it in the direction of the Police.

"I'm not sure," Harry stated as he leaned in closer and nearly hovered above the ledge. He wondered if the Gotham City police officers were out of their depth dealing with someone like the Joker. Even though they had attempted to do so in the past, in fact, he wondered if he was in over his head dealing with someone like the Joker.

A large crate that was wheeled out and Harry could hear a humming. First it was a sound that was like a "click, click, click" and then there was another one that sounded more like a "Ha, ha, ha" as he listened to it closer

He felt his skin crawl for a moment, something was up, although he could not put his finger on exactly what. His eyes flooded with a frustrated glint.

A Joker head with a sadistic grin on it's face popped out of the crate.

'_Time to move,' _Harry thought to his bonded as he made his way down, Barbara, Diana, and Tess following.

From the alleyway, Tess launched a blast of heat vision at it causing an explosion that resonated outwards.

The clown head was just a diversion and Harry figured that out seconds later. There was another tick-tock sound.

Harry locked onto it and levitated it. There was a signal that resounded and a huge blip, blip, blip, sound. It echoed, getting more prominent with each tick.

"HELLO, HELLO, IS THIS THING ON?"

The voice of the Joker reverberated outwards which he followed up with by cackling loudly as his face appeared on the screen.

"Well this is fairly embarrassing," Joker commented as he paused then chuckled. "Well it's fairly embarrassing for YOU! ...Because I'm nowhere near where you are. And if that's you Bats!….Well I expected better from you, you're getting pretty sloppy. Maybe you should get some rest and relaxation, I hear that it's good for the old bones."

Another loud round of laughter echoed out as the Joker's rictus grin widened further across his face before the image on the screen of the device went dead.

Harry smiled as he looked at the device in his hand, he figured that Joker was going to cause some chaos as a distraction but he also left them a clue, with Barbara noticing it as well.

"Did he just…."

"That he did," Harry offered the redhead woman as he placed his arm around her, her eyes were wide as she leaned her head forwards to take a closer look.

It was a clue, granted, it was not a very good clue, but it was a clue never the less. It was something that he could use to track down this criminal clown. A signal had to have been transmitted to the device from somewhere. If they were able to track it back to the point of origin they'd be able to nail him.

He brushed the hair out of his eyes as he thought about it.

'_Chloe, I'm feeding you the signal off of this, maybe you can narrow this down,' _Harry thought to the blond over the bond link.

'_Right, I've…got it,' _Chloe thought back to him through the link as she tapped away at the interface and a long sigh escaped her. '_Well, you're right, that did narrow things down a lot, a fair bit actually, there's a warehouse…..it sold novelty gag products. But it was shut down after the Joker took the place over and turned the chemicals present within them into a toxin that caused people to die laughing. Said something about wanting to spread laughter and joy for their rest of their lives.'_

'_Yeah that sounds like the Joker's idea of a sick joke,' _Harry offered her in a despondent voice.

Barbara remind quiet and kept her eyes on Harry as she listened to the exchange between the two over the bond link.

"Do you think that he's leading us on?"

"It's the Joker, he might want to make us think he's leading us on when actually he's giving us a direct trail to him," Harry told them and Barbara let out the breath that she held in.

* * *

"Oh, Company's coming, and I'm not even ready!"

The Joker made his way up and down his hideout, with his gang hanging around. There was always a sense that they could get shot in a second. The Clown Prince of Crime was running around like a chicken with its head cut off in his excitement.

"Oh this is…madness and I love it!" The Joker yelled as he saw his men roll out the large Birthday cake, it was ready and waiting. "Careful with that thing, if you spill one drop of frosting, I'll gut you!"

The Joker's laughter was completely mad and it got even more insane with each passing second.

"Oh boy, joy of joys, the Batman's coming, oh he's coming, yes!"

Batman made his presence known then by descending from the rafters off the building to land in a low kneeling crouch.

"Don't be a stranger Batsy! ...Come on, join the party!" The Joker yelled as he blew up the balcony which Batman had landing on.

The Dark Knight dropped down onto the ground as it collapsed violently under him. He attempted to grab Joker around the head by lunging towards him, but his men tried to club Batman from behind.

The key word was try as Batman dodged their attacks. The Dark Knight grappled up a wall then he swung himself around, nailing his enemy in the chest with both of his feet.

The Dark Knight kept dodging their attacks as he landed on the floor. A loud explosion resounded outwards as something exploded in the background.

Batman grabbed one of the foes by the back of the head and plowed him into the ground.

"Come on, put your backs into it, he's only a complete psychopath dressed as a giant bat and armed to the teeth!" Joker yelled as he watched his men drop one by one to the fierce assault of the Batman. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK?!"

He threw his head back and offered a long sigh as he gritted his teeth. The Joker followed it pulling jaw up off the ground then face palming so hard his head actually snapped backwards.

"Because I can guarantee that it wouldn't be funny!...Actually it probably would be," The Joker offered as he continued to watch the fight below him as his dark eyes burned with homicidal rage. He leaned forwards grabbing onto the railing of the cat walk where he stood.

Batman continued to plow through the Joker's goon squad, taking them down with an increasing amount of violent force. Finishing them off he fired his grapple into rafters so he could dropped down in front of the Joker.

He was face to face with Joker.

"No, wait, don't tell me," Joker offered in a mock insightful voice as he felt Batman's hands wrap around the lapels of his shirt and lift him an inch off the ground. "You're going to….you're going…you're going to tell me that it's all over isn't it? Isn't it? WON'T YOU!"

The Joker laughed in amusement as Batman held him in place.

"Oh, this is a pickle isn't it?" Joker asked to himself and he turned his head around, to take in every detail of the warehouse around them. "Oh, I guess, I'm going to have to give up, because there's no way that I can….oh wait I guess there is a way….there's a way….oh there's definitely a way….with a will, there's a way!"

A boxing glove erupted from the wall and nailed Batman in the back of the head with so much force that it drove him down onto his hands and knees.

"I can't believe that you fell for that, maybe you're getting sloppy!" Joker cackled as he reared back his foot and kicked him right in the ribs.

With Batman still dazed on the ground before him the Joker pulled out a huge hammer out of his jacket. He raised it above his head and slammed it down on the back of his head. He followed it up by delivering several more frenzied kicks to the ribs, the force of each getting progressively stronger the longer the assault went on for. When he finally wore himself out the Joker rolled him over onto his front.

A few of his men scrambled back to their feet and walked over to join him. The Joker watched their arrive with glee.

"I'll give you one chance, just one more chance not to screw this up," Joker growled out as the Clown Prince of Crime turned to face his men. "Make sure Batman doesn't wake up before the big moment, I've got something special planned for him."

His men brought out twelve candles one at a time. They were large, hollow and inside were the politicians that he captured. It was at random, no real rhyme or reason but considering that it was the Joker, it was just as well.

"And now the final candle, the thirteenth candle, the one for my special party guest," Joker offered as one of the men reached for the mask but Joker kicked his hand a way. "HEY, WHAT THE FUCK'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"But boss don't you want to know who he is…"

"No. You dumb fuck. I don't," Joker said with a deadly serious tone to his voice. "If we take the mask off, all of you punks got your asses handed to you by just another guy. I don't want to kill just another guy. I want to kill the god damn Batman."

The goons nodded up and down although they looked at their boss like he was nuts, although there was honestly no like about it.

"Is that understood?" Joker offered in a mocking voice and they looked like really crude wind up toys as their heads nodded up and down.

The Joker couldn't help but note that them nodding like that made them look like demented bobble heads as their heads made rapid movements.

"It's good that we can come to some kind of understanding," Joker commented as his demented grin spread over his face once more. "Just to make sure that there's no hard feelings, shake my hand, kid."

The goon looked at the Joker's hand nervously.

"What's the matter?" Joker asked with a mocking tone to his voice. "Are you too good to do it? Too much of a stuck up punk to shake another man's hand?"

The goon watched the Clown Prince of Crime nervously as the man shrugged.

"Oh well, suit yourself," Joker commented as he pulled out a gun. "It's your funeral, bucko."

There was a loud bang and a flag with the same word on it popped up. The Joker smiled, and laughed, the goon laughed.

Then the Joker pulled the trigger and impaled him with the flag. The flag impaled him through the heart and blood oozed from his chest as he fell backwards dead.

"Should have went with the joy buzzer, it's a lot less demeaning," Joker commented as he shook his head and tutted. "A pity."

* * *

Harry moved swiftly towards his destination. There was a huge part of him that knew that he was walking into a trap and he felt his nerves spread through his body.

'_One step at a time,' _Harry thought to himself as he kept himself steady and he saw Diana following behind him.

Diana could sense how tense he was, how he know they were about walk into a trap but having little choice in the matter.

They were walking into the heart of madness and it was not something that either of them relished. They paused for half of a heart beat as an understanding passed between them. Tess followed a few steps behind them, understanding the need to remain quiet, even though their nerves were on pins and needles.

'_I don't like this,' _Tess offered to them.

Harry thought that made two of them, he felt like he was about to fall off the edge of a cliff and he knew that the Joker would have all of the windows guarded.

So he was going to do something completely insane. He was going to walk in through the front door. The Joker expected him to sneak inside through a back entrance but he was going to sneak inside by not really sneaking inside. Granted, when one thought about that, it didn't make any sense whatsoever, but he was counting on that fact. His green eyes were trained forwards and all of his senses were focused on what he had to do. He carefully made his way forwards ready for action at a moments notice.

A slight crunch indicated that Barbara stepped on something.

"Sorry," Barbara whispered as she felt her nerves reach a fever pitch as they escalated to a brand new level, a level that she had not felt before.

Harry shook his head.

"No, I'm pretty sure that they know that we're here."

"Oh, goody, more guests….but I'm going to have to see your invite if you want to come in further or I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Because no one likes a party crasher."

There was a pause before the jolly jester amended his statement.

"Ah who am I kidding? I think that it's going to be a blast!" The Joker yelled at the top of his lungs as he chortled and giggled as several statues rolled forward. "Gentleman, ladies, I'm glad you're here, because we can have a real blast."

"Divert them, I'll free the hostages!" Har-Rell breathed to them that excited declaration being delivered as he darted forwards.

Of course it was easier said than done as he had to carefully scope out his surroundings first. It would be unwise to tap into a certain side of the merger and blunder into a trap.

Heat vision knocked his enemies for a loop and Harry's smile was wide over his face as he stood over the ashen remains of the robots.

The clanking of a timer indicated that he was running out of time but he didn't lose his cool.

'_Knowing the Joker, he's likely rigged this to blow at a random time,' _Harry thought to himself as he prepared to get to work. There was one sarcastic tone that resounded in the back of the young man's head. _'Oh joy of joys, this should be the ultimate thrill.'_

There was nothing that he liked more than playing guessing games, well actually there were many things that he liked more but the thought was there.

He walked towards the cake and felt an energy shield back him off. He was going to need to get past here which would be difficult but doable. He also couldn't help but idly wonder where the Joker got a force field of all things.

'_Okay, that's going to be…'_

"HEY NO SNATCHING OF THE CAKE BEFORE IT'S TIME!"

Harry wondered when the man himself would show up. Party favors dropped from the sky but Diana managed to take care of them, alongside Tess.

"I think I can disable the shield," Barbara said as she walked forward. "Or I could end up blowing all of Gotham City into the next life."

"Well, good luck," Harry told her and Barbara blinked, wondering if he was having her on. The woman shrugged, it was time to get to work.

Barbara gritted her teeth as she got down to it and thankfully Diana was more than capable of keeping the goons off of her back. The Amazon princess used her lasso to wrap up an enemy and flung him off to the side where he landed with a resounding crunch.

Diana was performing her role to perfection, taking down her adversaries one at a time with back handed punches.

"You won't do it….not in time…."

Robin flew down from the edge of the rafters and knocked one of the goons in the back of the head.

"Yeah, I figured you'd need my h…."

Being young, Robin was prone to making mistakes and one of them was leaving himself open for another attack. He was nailed across the back of the head and was ripe for a follow up.

Before a goon could nail him in the head with a crowbar, Diana used her lasso to disarm him and she hoisted him up, nailing him across the back of the head.

"I got the force field down!" Barbara cheered as she peeked over her shoulder towards Harry. "So you should work your magic."

"I think I will," Harry agreed as he took the cake out and opened up the candles.

The men and women fell out one at a time, with Harry deactivating the explosive properties of the candles.

"YOU DON'T PLAY FAIR!"

The Joker's loud scream of anger could be heard from far above him as he pulled out a rocket launcher and with fury blasted his enemies with everything that he had. The Clown Prince of Crime wanted his attacks to be felt far and wide. He looked down at them all with rage flowing through her eyes.

Batman was laying on the ground a moment ago and now he was gone. So where the hell had he slipped off to?

He was the goddamn Batman and as a result he seemed to appear behind the Joker like it was magic.

He was Batman and he was behind the Joker.

"This is it Bat Breath!" Joker yelled as he tried to fling a razor sharp playing card at Batman, who deflected it with ease.

The Dark Knight dropped down beneath the catwalk then slammed his feet up through the wooden part of it, tripping the Joker up.

Two great enemies went against each other; neither gave an inch because they knew that the other would take a foot in response. It was a true battle between two of them, a real war of attrition, as the two of them beat the hell out of each other.

One hand blocked the other and the two of them circled each other warily.

Batman was not about to give up, he was going to take the Joker down and bring him to justice.

The Joker did something reckless or perhaps calculating, as he tackled Batman through a window. The Dark Knight's back brutally slammed through the window, then into the ground with a huge crash as the Joker rained savage blows onto his head.

The Clown Prince of Crime and Batman had landed outside of the warehouse, a massive stockpile of explosive material surrounded them. They were overlooking a set of cliffs.

"The end, the final battle!" Joker yelled as he picked up a bazooka and fired it.

There was a massive explosion as everything blew up around them but Batman had slipped behind him, using his grapnel he caught the Joker around his wrists then yanked him forwards and into a viscous knee strike to the side of the face.

The Dark Knight grabbed Joker around the throat but Joker stabbed him in the ribs with a knife that he'd hidden up his sleeve.

"You really do need a vacation, Batsy!" Joker yelled.

It was true, the battle with the Scarecrow recently left Batman ravaged and he blocked another attempt by the Joker to stab him again as the two of them continued their battle. Batman headbutted the Joker but he staggered around punch drunk, shrugging it off.

Joker backed Batman over the spot where he wanted him.

A land mind/Jack in the Box combination exploded, propelling Batman and the Joker high up into the air.

They crashed back into the cliff with a resounding crack. Which caused the Joker to start laughing despite the fact that he could not feel anything from the waist up.

Batman managed to get himself up onto his feet despite the fact it felt like his ribs might have been broken in the fall.

"Let's go all the way tonight!" Joker yelled as the Dark Knight pulled him up off the ground by his suit jacket and then he whistled.

Harry had tied up the loose ends within the factory and made sure all of the hostages were out of the blast zone, in time to see a large explosion blossom outwards in the direction of where Batman and the Joker where fighting.

He flew down the cliff, the smoke was blinding. A siphoning spell quickened his path as he made his way down to the blast zone.

He coughed.

"BATMAN!"

There was no answer.

There were no bodies.

There was nothing except a pile of ashes.

* * *

"Today, we have shocking news that the legendary Dark Knight Detective known as Batman is been presumed missing, likely dead having been caught in an explosion during a battle with the legendary clown prince of crime known as the Joker, who is also missing. The Joker has cheated death several times in the past, so there's some question as to whether or not he was able to do this time as well. Neither man's body was found on the scene which leads some to speculate that they may have survived. Commissioner James Gordon of the Gotham City Police Department has no comment at this present time."

Harry watched the television at Barbara's apartment as the redhead was thankful that no one was hurt, well almost no one. Alfred and Dick were both devastated although both held out hope that Bruce was out there alive, somewhere. Thankfully there was a contingency plan for such a thing and Harry was willing to help any way he could.

"What's going to happen now?"

Tess paused as she considered this point and offered it to Barbara. "It's going to come out eventually who he really was."

That was a grim statement that all of them had to accept, the fact of the matter was that it was going to come out sooner or later that the person behind the cape and cowl was Bruce Wayne. Then what were they going to do next?

Harry had no idea and that fact caused him a fair amount of frustration. His green eyes were filled with it but there was something else that swam through them as well.

There was doubt.

Doubt that he was dead.

Harry had seen people die before but there was something that happened to made him really doubt that Batman was really dead.

There was no body and if there was no body and until he saw a body Harry was not going to count the person as being dead, that's just the way things were in this line of work.

Barbara could sense what he was thinking.

"So do you think…."

"I could use my powers, yes," Harry offered to the redhead as he placed his arm around him. "But, there's a lot of times where the powers don't work as well as they can."

"Kind of like my car," Barbara replied to him dryly as the two of them sat down on the couch.

"There's no body."

Tess said that statement as she shook her head.

"Surely the people in Gotham City could not be that gullible?" Tess asked them.

"Although Bruce Wayne is going on an extended holiday, funny how no one has been able to connect the dots on that one," Harry commented and Tess shook her head.

"There are a lot of people who would ignore the blatantly obvious as it was underneath their nose," Tess stated as she placed her hand on the hand of Harry and the wizard smiled as he grabbed her and pulled her in tight.

Diana made her way inside with a tense look.

"Well it appears that one of the members of our Justice League has joined Arrow in the currently missing files," Diana said as she sat down next to Harry.

"And presumed dead," Barbara offered.

Harry thought that the world or more importantly Gotham City needed a Batman. Sure the crime rate was not anything that was comfortable but before the Dark Knight, it was far worse.

"It's been a long night, I'm sure something will turn up," Barbara offered.

Tess had to agree. There was something that she needed to do to keep her mind off of everything and she had the perfect idea in the back of her mind.

The redhead grabbed Harry and pinned him back.

"I think that we could all use some rest and relaxation," Tess breathed in his ear and Harry smiled.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Diana mused as she prepared Harry.

Harry was not going to argue, no he wasn't, he wasn't about to argue in the slightest.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends. **

* * *

The scene of the crime, despite better judgment, was one that people kept coming back to.

"I survived, I survived, I outlived him but they're talking like the bastard bat's still alive."

The Joker said this statement with the utmost frustration, as he was wheeled forward by his men.

"Boss there's no way…."

"You are a fool if you think there's no way that he could have survived that!" The Joker snapped violently and his men backed off in fear. "There are many ways he could survive that, that's what he does, he survives shit that he shouldn't."

That was the statement that no one was going to argue with because they would be foolish to argue with the Joker. The Man twisted his head around to get a full view of everything.

He got a foreboding sense that there was something nearby and it wasn't something that he wanted to deal with. Joker could not move that fast as he sacrificed a lot to get that one big blow on Batman and he felt the aches and pains rack through his body.

No matter how much he tried to push himself up all he was met with was a never ending series of pain that coursed through his body.

"No matter….no matter…."

"So you're him, the one that knocked off the Batman."

"Alleged to knock off the Batman," Joker corrected as he saw a group of dark figures. It was during the dark of the night so he could not see anyone, not even with glasses. "And who wants to know?"

"We know what you've done, there's no need to lie about it."

The Joker felt a prickling go through his spine and he wondered if he was about to bite off a bit more than he could chew. There was a sense that he was coming face to face with something that would be his doom.

"Just who are you?"

Joker did not like this, not liking the fact that all the cards had been removed from his hand, like he was nothing. He tried to sit up in his chair with a great deal of effort but all he was able to manage was a pained grimace.

"I DEMAND TO TELL YOU WHO YOU ARE?"

There was a snickering off to the side. "I thought you enjoyed a good joke?"

There was a few seconds where the Joker paused and he offered one strangled statement as he was dragged out of the chair and thrown down onto the ground.

"This isn't funny!" The Joker yelled as he tried to scramble up to his feet like a demented monkey but he found himself unable to even lift himself up. His panting escalated even more.

"No, it isn't funny," the female voice in the shadows agreed and her giggling escalated for a few seconds, which was both musical and unsettling.

The Joker felt shivers go down his spine, it took a lot to creep him out like that. He tried to get up once more but he found the woman grab him around the shoulders and march him forward.

His gang members dropped to the ground like a series of dominoes, not that they would have been able to do anything of value. They fell with an expression of pain on their faces as blood spurted from them.

"Hey, hey, what are you, what are you?"

"I'm making sure that you enjoy the value of a good joke."

The Joker was stabbed through his chest with a rusty meat hook and then his body was hoisted up into the air.

He could feel a searing heat and smelled something burning.

It was a furnace and the Joker could feel the warmth flash out of the furnace. He tried to keep his head up but he was hovering above the top of it.

"Please….please…have…."

The Joker was hung over it with a chain and there was a second where she teased bringing him inside but did not.

"You've survived a lot, haven't you?" she asked in a calm voice.

"Yes, yes, a lot, a lot, a lot," The Joker managed as his head swayed in the sky and the woman held him high into the air. "I've survived…."

"But fire….fire kills even the strongest of men," the woman offered as the Joker felt like his back was going to snap as he was swung back and forth in the air.

"YES!" Joker yelled, unable to believe that, well he was going to die, there was no two ways about it.

"Your death is going to come really soon," the woman offered as she teased dropping him down.

For a second, the Joker thought that she got cold feet.

Then she dropped him straight down into the furnace. The flames and the heat consumed him and he screamed as he felt the fire consume his body.

"Oh and by the way, you didn't kill Batman," she stated as an afterthought to the crispy corpse

Her name was Helena Wayne, she was the heroine known as Owlwoman. Although a psychotic break during her childhood after seeing her parents killed before her had caused her to develop a split personality.

There were times where she tried to kill herself as the Joker in her world.

"Now….that was funny."

Her relationship with Harrison made her become stable for the most part.

"You've done well," Harrison offered with a smile.

Wayne's body would be an interesting study, as they believed that he was on an extended holiday.

Plus it was better that he got his hands on it before other more unsavory people.

Bruce Wayne lingered between life and death, at least for now.

**To Be Continued in the Next Chapter. **


	15. Chapter 15: Escape Part One

**Chapter Fifteen: Escape Part One.**

It was another bright and shiny day at the Shining Light Foundation. The birds were singing and there was a sense that this was a good day to be alive, at least for most of them. It had been a few days since the events that occurred in Gotham City and for some reason, Harry was more unsettled by the facts of what happened than ever before.

He knew that he should not bother himself with thoughts of what could happen. Until he found Batman's body, there was a sense that he was still out there. The same thing went for the Joker. The life line reader was acting really weird; of course, there wasn't a time where he could remember when it wasn't acting weird. That was just the way it was and he smelled a rat, although he could not put his finger quite on why he did so.

It was another day in the life of Harry Potter and a frustrating one at that.

'_Boy, this isn't going to be a fun day, no matter how I slice it,' _Harry thought to himself as he bit down onto his lip in frustration.

"Busy day?"

"Oh, hey, Megan," Harry said to the young white Martian who stepped towards him and Harry threw his arms around her in a hug. "Yeah, it kind of has been one of those weeks all around."

The redhead stood up on her tip toes and gave him a hungry kiss, which Harry returned. The two of them enjoying each others company for a little while.

"So, how's Claire?" Harry whispered to Megan.

M'gann frowned as she locked her eyes onto Harry's. "I thought that you would know, given that you're her father….not that I'm accusing you of anything, really I'm not, it's just….yeah it's just….I'm going to shut up before I choke on my own tongue."

"That might be for the best, I'm the only one who is able to choke you with a tongue," Harry offered in a teasing voice and the Martian girl offered a blush.

"So…"

"Yeah, she's a bit miffed about the entire Laura thing…and for the record, yes I know your reasons why you're doing this and I agree with every one of them," M'gann stated and Harry watched the young Martian with a smile. "It's just….nothing is cut and dry as it seems, is it?"

"No," Harry offered her with a sigh as he kept his arms wrapped around her waist and she leaned back to close her eyes for a moment and reflect. "And she's a teenager…."

"So logic often flies out the window," M'gann stated to him. "It's really a situation where you can't win."

'_Yeah, and that's the problem, no matter what decision we'll make, we'll be kind of screwed,' _Kara thought to him as it felt like everything was crashing down on them. _'If we let her in, we could risk her getting hurt. If we don't, we seem like we're cutting her out of the loop on purpose.'_

'_Damned if you do, damned if you don't,' _Chloe thought.

"I'll give her a few days to cool down, then I'll talk to her," Harry told her. The truth was, with everything that was going on, on top of the new baby, he and Kara did not spend as much time with Claire as they should. They figured that since she was a teenager, they could get away with dialing back things like that, although that might have been doing more harm than it was good.

"Cool down, very ironic given her power set," M'gann commented with a slight grin and Harry eyed her. The Martian girl turned back away from him. "Yeah, I knew what you meant."

Rachel made her way into the room to join them, the young half demon having left briefly to take a quick shower and get changed after finishing up her lesson with the emerald eyed sorcerer for the day.

"Another good lesson today, Harry," Rachel complimented him with a slight smile upon her face.

With each passing day, she was getting better control over her powers, although given who and what she was; she sensed the dark and negative emotions that came with Darkseid's arrival.

'_Your daughter's finally asleep,' _Kara chimed in.

_'Oh of course, when she's any trouble she's my daughter,' _Harry thought to her but the banter was extremely playful between the two, with neither backing down from it for an instant.

'_Naturally,' _Chloe stated.

Harry made arrangements for Rachel's next lesson and he slipped into the next room where he saw Artemis doing target practice.

"Nice form," Harry told her after running his eyes up and down for a long moment and Artemis, though she didn't even bother to turn around, couldn't help but offer him a response to those words.

"You're an expert on archery now as well?" Artemis asked him and Harry smiled.

"I wasn't really talking about your shooting, although that is pretty nice," Harry informed her and though Artemis didn't show it she was extremely pleased by his words.

"Oh, you aren't? That's surprising," Artemis inquired as she shot an arrow into the target. She hit it of course, she could have hit it blindfolded and at half the size it was now. "Well, did you ever pick it up?"

"I've done many things when I was bored and archery was one of them," Harry told the new archer on the team. "Why don't you give me a refresher course?"

"Oh, do you think…."

"I don't think," Harry offered her and he blew his long hair out from in front of his face. "I know."

"Okay, let me get you set up," Artemis offered as she stepped towards him. The blonde walked towards him and she grabbed Harry from behind.

She was pressed against him but she tried not to let that bother her in the slightest. Even though she longed for Harry to launch another arrow and stick it in her target, she managed to keep her emotions in check.

"Alright, alright, let's see," Artemis stated as she grabbed him. "You should angle the arrow that way, because of your height."

"Gotcha," Harry told her and she felt extremely flushed at these words.

It was just the way that he said it really, it distracted her and Artemis did not do distracted, at least not normally.

"Okay, fire," the young archer told Harry after she situated him.

The blonde's hands grabbed onto his arms and Harry aimed it.

There was a low twang as he fired the arrow into the target.

"Not too bad," Artemis told him.

Harry raised his eyebrow. "Not too bad? I must be slipping then."

"Really?" Artemis asked as she watched Harry hit the target dead on again.

"I always make my shot," Harry said as he turned around to wink at her. "And that's not just with arrows either."

Artemis felt a breath leave her body as it heated up in response to what he was doing. He backed her off half of a step and she wondered what was on the horizon.

"I can sense what you want and I can give it to you," Harry breathed to her as he backed her up against the wall and the archer closed her eyes. Heat pulsed down between her legs.

"If you always make your shot, then prove it," Artemis told him but her smile was wider. "Just don't shoot too soon."

She reached over to find Harry's equipment and smiled.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends.**

* * *

A day could not go by at the Shining Light Foundation without some strange and mysterious person showing up. Whether or not it would be for a good reason or for a bad reason, Harry could not say. He prepared himself as he sensed the person approaching as Chloe manned the front desk.

A tall woman stepped forward and she was the type of woman that people couldn't help but take note of. She had long dark red hair that fell all the way to the ground. Harry could have sworn that the hair had a life of its own but he could not be certain. The purple robes that stretched around her body was a very enticing sight and Harry could not take his eyes off of this vision if he wanted to and he was not sure if he wanted to at all. She had a nice set of breasts that were about D-Cup or greater in size. The material wrapped around her body to emphasize her curves.

"Good morning," the woman commented in a sophisticated but sexy voice that had a regal tone to it at the same time. "I'm looking for Har-Rell."

Now Harry's interest was grabbed for obvious reasons. She'd asked for him by his real name and that was something that indicated that she knew a fair bit of what was going on since it wasn't exactly common knowledge. How much did she know, well that was something that Harry would have to find out.

"Are you?" Harry asked to her as he caught a few view of her enticing frame and the woman smiled brightly across her face.

"Yes, I am," she informed him as she caught a glimpse of him. "I've come a very long way to meet you."

Karen was on the edge and she turned to Harry and then turned to the redhead in there. "How long?"

The redhead offered a smile as she wondered if they would be able to figure out what was going on. "A very long way."

"Oh, that's interesting," Harry offered and Karen, Kara, looked at him and then looked at her. Their eyes were dancing all over every which way. "May I inquire as to your name?"

"You may, my name is Medusalith Amaquelin Boltagon of Attilan, though considering it's a bit of a mouth full most call me Medusa," the woman told him and Harry, intrigued as he was, couldn't help but give her his full attention.

'_Like the Greek myth, the Gorgon with the hair made of snakes who turned men to stone,' _Kara quipped to Harry as she used her X-Ray vision to take a peak of what was underneath her robes. She had absolutely nothing whatsoever to be ashamed about, that fact could be taken to the bank._ 'And she has the type of body that can turn a men into stone in a completely different way.'_

'_Of course,' _Harry offered as Karen stuffed a fist in her mouth and tried really hard not to laugh.

"Well, Medusa, I'd like to welcome you to the Shining Light Foundation, but all we know about you so far is that you've come a long way. I want to know why you came here," Harry told the woman.

"Fair enough question," she admitted to Harry and offered a smile towards him as she brushed her hair out of the side of her face. "I'm the last survivor of my race, the rest where lost in a cataclysm that befell our home."

'_There's a lot of that going around, isn't there?' _Karen asked and Harry mentally hushed her so he could take care of what he needed to take care of.

"Oh, are you?" Harry asked to the blonde standing there before him.

"Yes, I am, my people lived on the moon but we were wiped out by a cloud of darkness," Medusa offered and a shudder went through her body. She tried not to show it. Harry's smile was one that indicated that she could draw strength from it and get done what needed to be done.

Harry thought that there was a good chance that he could figure out what was going on here, even though he was a bit overwhelmed. The darkness was something that was more far reaching that he feared.

"You weren't the first one to be caught up in this terror," Harry muttered to the female who put her hands on the side of his face.

"Yes, I know. My people where just the first victims of this evil. He started with us then moved onto the rest," Medusa told him, she was fairly certain her entire universe had been wiped out.

"That's why you were sent here," Harry told the female, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that's why I was sent here," Medusa told him as she held up a necklace from which hung faintly glowing symbol of death.

"Death follows us everywhere," Harry breathed to her and Medusa nodded.

"It isn't the first time that I've been a Herald," Medusa told him trying to act casual as she leaned towards him. "But the stakes have not been any higher."

"The stakes are never higher between life and death," Harry stated to the redhead as he shifted himself then offered his hand her. "So my lady…."

"Yes, my lord?" Medusa asked him as she felt a swelling of desire rise amongst her bosom as Harry pulled her tightly into him.

"I believe we need to figure out what the others know," Harry offered but naturally there was something that caught his attention.

'_Harry?' Lois asked as she sighed. 'You might want to check this out.'_

'_Check what out?' _Harry asked but Chloe chimed in.

'_Oh just this,' _Chloe, stated then transferred the details to him.

An alien vessel was about to crash right into the Middle of Smallville and there was a group of United States military personnel chasing after it.

Harry sighed and Kara managed to get the one statement off that described what he was thinking.

'_Just another Tuesday,' _ Kara thought and Harry would have to agree.

* * *

Lois Lane, as always, stumbled out of the shadows and into the thick of things. She tried to focus her hearing to take in all of the sounds around her, the rumbling of tanks, the whirling of helicopters. The dark haired woman stood on the edge of the ground and felt the nerves roll over her body. Her nerves did not get any better when she saw who showed up.

Who else would she happen to find on the scene of the crime but demented army man Slade Wilson? The ship hadn't even crashed yet and Slade already wanted to capture what was inside it.

"Aliens among us in every single direction," Slade barked to his men. Even though the VRA was pretty much off of the table, much to the dismay of many. The government was still extremely interested in the fact that aliens seemed bound and determined to turn the Earth into their new breeding grounds.

'_Damn it, he's going to screw up everything,' _Lois thought as she balled her fists together.

She hoped that Harry would get here soon before the government reached the vessel, they needed to figure out if whoever or whatever was inside it was a threat. As she thought about it, she wondered for the first time ever, if the government might be right about something. If the people aboard this ship were dangerous, perhaps steps should be taken. That was if the government was right, which was not often.

'_Maybe, maybe not,' _Lois thought urgently as she kept her hands on the back of her head as she lurched closer yet.

The dark haired reporter took a step but as always, a large government goon stepped forward.

"Excuse me, this is a restricted area!" one of the goons snapped.

Lois could have thanked her lucky stars, at least he said excuse me. Still, Lois, being Lois, was not about to take no for an answer.

"I'm Lois Lane, you might know my father, General Sam Lane," Lois commented.

'_Really, this is the card we're going to play?' _Chloe asked as Lois shushed her.

'_I've been trying to get readings from the ship,' _Lara thought from her post on New Krypton.

'_I'll be there in a moment, is there anything pressing that I need to know?' _Harry asked them and Lara responded in no time.

'_Yes, a few things but it can wait,' _Lara thought to Harry as she felt her stomach twist itself into a rather painful know.

'_Oh, already I'm loving this,' _Harry offered with a pained grimace upon his face as he quickened his flight.

'_Just spit it out, we might need to know,' _M'gann thought as she joined Harry's team.

'_The craft is of Tamaranian Origin,' _Lara informed them.

'_Well that's interesting,' _Harry thought to Lara and Lara raised an eyebrow._ 'There were rumors that the one of princesses escaped the planet after selling her sister into slavery, before it was taken over.'_

'_How do you…'_

'_Fortress,' _Harry said to Chloe, cutting off her inquiry.

'_Oh...yeah,' _Chloe thought, feeling dumb for even asking.

'_So how long will it take until you get here,' _ Lois offered to him.

"_About two seconds," Harry said to Lois and she spun around to see Harry standing behind her._

'_You're extremely funny, you know that,' _Lois thought to him though there was an extreme amount of irritation in her voice.

'_I do try,' _Harry thought back to her. The young woman kept her narrowed eyes on him, as if she was contemplating setting him on fire with her heat vision. '_So are you….'_

'_Yeah, I'm ready,' _Lois thought to Harry as she placed her hand on her chin and she rocked her head back with a long sigh.

"Everyone clear out, civilians included!" the army goons shouted.

'_I think we're about ready to have a close encounter,' _Harry thought to the woman.

'_How do you know?' _Lois asked to Harry and he chuckled.

'_I don't know, call it a crazy hunch,' _Harry thought as he saw a glowing object that was hovering above them. He tried to get a fix with his telescopic vision but suddenly, he felt a stabbing sensation erupt in his eyes like two white hot pokers was jammed through them. There was some kind of aura that was causing his eyes to burn with pain and agony.

'_Well, I hope that teaches you a valuable lesson about using your powers without thinking, Clark,' _Chloe commented in an amused voice.

'_Not funny,' _Harry told her.

'_I thought it was,' _Chloe stated.

'_Okay, Miss Smart Ass, let's see if you can get a visual on the ship,' _Harry told her crossly.

'_Ahoy Captain,' _Chloe commented with a mock salute as she tried to latch onto it.

Medusa stood in the shadows, keeping herself off out of everyone's way. This was quite a trial by fire to say the very least and she was thrown into the deep end of the pool. The redhead kept her eyes locked on everything around her.

'_I'm trying to get as close that I can but so is the government,' _Harry thought to everyone and he paused. _'And so is everyone else.'_

'_Wonderful,' _Chloe thought as she whistled with a smile crossing her face.

'_Thought you'd be amused by something like that,' _Harry thought as he turned his head over to the side, although his eyes were still hurting from that failed attempt of Telescopic Vision._ 'And here comes something.'_

'_This might constitute as a problem,' _Chloe warned him.

'_Yes, I know….we're just going to have to do what we can,' _Harry thought to Chloe as she swung her arms down to her side.

'_Yes, indeed,' _Chloe thought to him as she let out a whistle that escaped her lips. _'So, I guess this is one of those do or don't do situations.'_

Harry used his enhanced hearing to focus onto the vessel then lock onto a garbled humming he could hear coming from it.

It was a transmitting a distress signal, apparently the female inside the ship had escaped from somewhere but her ship had been damaged and she was seeking help.

Which meant she wasn't the threat that they were thinking she might be.

'_Let's move.'_

Harry gave that declaration before making his way forwards in the direction of where he calculated the ship was most likely to crash. He had to get there quickly or who knows what would happen to the woman who was seeking help inside.

The ship had continued its rather rapid descent towards them and it was about ready to crash into the ground.

'_Just another Tuesday,' _Harry thought to them all.

* * *

Harrison placed his hand on the palm of his chin and rolled his head back as he watched the same transmission that his counterpart was picking up. The businessman watched, waited, calculating his best course of action and he would grab onto the opportunities as they presented themselves.

"Mr. Luthor sir…."

"Yes, Gwen come inside, don't be shy," Harrison offered the blonde and she took a step forward looking like she about to drop dead on her feet.

Gwen bit down on her lip nervously and Harrison held his hand out towards her. The two of them had spent a great deal of time together, Harrison having taken a personal interest in her because she was his own personal intern.

"The entire world, it's going nuts," Gwen told him and Harrison watched her. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

Harrison took a sip of his coffee as he thought about how to respond to her question. The blonde keeping her rather adoring gaze locked onto him.

"People fear what they don't understand," Harrison offered the young blonde and Gwen blinked a bit as Harrison watched her. "Trust me my dear, that's just the way things are."

Gwen knew that, she remembered fractured memories of the reality she lived in before this one.

"VRA still…"

"VRA is merely a symptom," Harrison told her in an evasive voice and Gwen raised an eyebrow. "People are snug and secure as the government wishes to believe. However, they will never understand what the true horror is there."

The government wanted the public to fear superheroes because that would leave them unable to deal with the current crisis facing the world.

"There's a ship, they're saying…."

"Well they do get things accurate once in a while," Harrison offered, although he was trying to pinpoint where the ship would land.

Smallville was the likely location, although it really wasn't that special of a place so there was obviously something going on there. Bringing up a holographic interface the dark haired businessman tapped away at it hacking into the satellites above him.

'_Okay, to the right, a bit more, and…..yes, it's going to crash right in the same field that Jor-El sent his son,' _Harrison thought as he kept his eyes locked onto it. _'Well if I figure it out, he should figure it out, I would be disappointed if he didn't.'_

Harrison always expected the best out of the people who were around him. The young man placed his hand on the top of the console and moved through it.

Given that Harry Potter created the Shining Light Foundation computer, Harrison was more than capable of creating a computer of his own that easily matched if not exceeded it.

"So are you going to find the ship?" Gwen asked.

"I'm doing everything in my power to do so," Harrison offered as he took a moment to check his scanner and the blonde watched him with an adoring gaze.

She was amazed by how hard he worked. Sure there were a few questionable things that he did but that was business. She had gotten a job and a place in this world and eventually she would have so much more.

"So, I'll get back to work now, unless you need me?" Gwen offered then stopped herself as she realized how needy that sounded. Though that didn't stop the young blonde from continuing to more or less stare at her boss.

Harrison did not show overtly, but he couldn't help but smile at that fact.

"No, Gwen, that will be all," Harrison offered.

"Right," Gwen said as she turned around and walked off.

Harrison smiled as he saw the government move in.

'_Slade, Slade, Slade, you do not want to get into a chess game that you can't win,' _Harrison thought to himself as he kept the smile off of his face.

There was a lot to do and he saw Ultrawoman slip inside as she'd been summoned.

"Darling, take a close look at the site of the crash, the field, you know which one."

She knew, and the blonde watched him with an adoring smile as she nodded.

"Of course, I won't let you down," Ultrawoman offered him and Harrison responded to that with a smile.

"I know you won't" Harrison told her as the blonde floated into his arms and he threw his arms around her, then pulled her in tightly to him to give her a rather heated kiss.

Ultrawoman flew off.

There was a faint distress signal that was coming from inside the ship.

Harrison utilized his vast knowledge of alien languages to translate what was going on in the ship and what he found out was rather alarming. It wasn't so much a ship like he initially thought, it was more accurately an escape pod she'd used to escape her jailers.

'_A war torn world,' _he thought to himself as he mulled over everything.

There was a few seconds where he ran over the scenario in his mind.

'_Very war torn,' _Harrison concluded as he turned to look out his office window._ 'And the slavers aren't going to let her go without a fight.'_

Harrison took protecting the world that he was on very seriously, although he found out that a lot of the times that meant having to do things that most wouldn't. His counterpart was going to need to find that out for himself. He could find out sooner or he could find out later. The fact of the matter was Harrison knew that his alternate self was going to find out.

'_Stay sharp, love,' _Harrison thought to Ultrawoman.

She smiled and paused. _'Right, I will stay sharp.'_

'_I know you will, darling,' _Harrison thought to her as he prepared himself.

The idiot government thought that they could contain who was on board. Even though she was not a threat, unless she was provoked, of course considering the fools on the scene that was pretty likely. That was the fact that these fools would make something out of nothing.

Harrison wanted to see how this played out, one step at a time. The businessman waited for the next move to be made. He was curious about his brother would do, besides he already had a set of Tamarian princesses to call his own so he could afford to be generous.

The ship would have crashed at any moment and Harrison waited to see what would happen.

'_I'm in,' _Ultrawoman thought. _'They don't see me.'_

'_Good,' _Harrison thought.

All they would need to do is wait, and watch. Harrison was ready to make the next move.

* * *

Harry felt the goosebumps rise on his arms as he waited for the ship to crash. He wasn't the only one who was waiting to see what would happen next. The young Herald of Death, Kara, Karen, M'Gann, and Medusa all watched. Lois tried to get closer.

"Shut down," Harry whispered to her.

"Merely, delayed," Lois told him with a fierce amount of stubbornness that never left her voice. She never ceased to be stubborn. The dark haired reporter stood on the edge of her heels. "I'll get in, trust me, have a little faith in me."

"I do have plenty of faith in you," Harry told the dark haired woman as the two of them watched.

'_What are these idiots doing?'_ Kara asked as she blew her blonde hair out of the way from where it hung in front of her face.

'_Nothing good,' _Lois offered them and she put her arm around the waist of the middle blonde as she swayed from one side to the other.

The eldest version of Kara watched, her eyes becoming completely furious.

"The order is to fire in about five minutes, bring the vessel down."

Harry's head snapped up as he felt the frustration coursing through his body. Were these idiots trying to start a catastrophe? This was utter and abject stupidity beyond all measure. He wondered if they knew the consequences of what they were doing. Actually a worse thing would be if they knew but they did not care. The green eyes flushed with panic as he watched them.

'_We might have to take them out,' _Harry thought as he turned to M'gann.

Medusa offered a wry smile, first day on the job and she was already being thrown into the danger zone. She thought that was part of the insanity that was going to come along with the job, well despite that, she was going to enjoy this, she was going to enjoy this part a lot. Then again, that was just the same old, same old situation that she once dealt with in the other world.

Harry sighed as he heard the humming. There was a beep, beep, beep of a beacon that was just getting louder the closer it came.

'_In for a pound I guess. Chloe, do what you can to kill the government's feeds, find the idiot that's giving orders to shoot an unknown alien ship and shut them down!' _Harry commanded over the bond. His eyes were nearly healed but he was still agitated.

'_Gotcha,' _Chloe thought, she never thought that she'd hear Harry so stressed out. She had to admit, it was very unsettling to hear such a thing. The blonde rocked her head back half of an inch. _'I'm cutting the transmission right now, but they're going to find out what we did.'_

'_I don't need that much time, just a few minutes to kill everything,' _Harry thought and Chloe hoped that Harry meant all of the equipment that the government was using and not the idiots involved. Although she could see why such a thought would come to mind, but that was neither the time nor the place. _'I'm getting in position now….'_

'_Do you want any…'_

'_No, Chloe, I'm good.'_

He wondered if he was going to regret going in there alone but the fact of the matter was that the more people were there, the more messed up things would be. Harry watched the events that was going on around him and paused.

'_Any second now, the moment of truth, it's going to land,' _Harry thought to the women that were on the bond link.

"GET OUT OF THERE!"

Harry raised his hand into the air and the men who walked forward became glassy eyed. He hated to do things this way but they really left him no choice. They were going to get injured more or less if they did not get sent away. He paused and wondered if that worked but sure enough, the group edged themselves away. Harry let out the breath in his body that he was holding in.

'_Okay, let's do this,' _Harry thought about everything that was going on around him. The young wizard watched everything that ticked on around him.

The wizard's eyes locked on the situation and he heard the humming go back and forth above him.

BOOM!

One sound rattled his ears, it said many things, even though it was one that rattled everything. There was something that was hurling down to the field at the speed of light. There was a glowing light that emitted through it and Harry pushed himself up.

'_Of course,' _Harry thought as he saw where the ship was going to land in the field.

The ship planted into the side of the field and Harry backed off a step and a half.

The ship was smoking, with it impacting a crater into the ground. The government agents were down on the ground, laid out. Slade was somewhere, although Harry did not know where he ran off to. He figured that he would not be near the blast zone in case it was something too dangerous for him to handle.

'_Everyone's alright,' _Kara thought to him.

'_That's good, we don't really need any other problems,' _Harry thought as he sank onto the ground. His feet were down on the ground and he saw the ship.

It was sleek and he stepped towards it, lifting a hand, a tentative one as he pressed it onto the edge of the ship, which cracked open.

A female rose out of the ship. She had long red hair that was completely wild ,along with glowing green eyes. She had sleek orange skin, along with large melon sized breasts and rosy nipples. The female had a number of delicious curves and Harry saw his eyes locked onto her. His heart skipped a half of a beat and the woman eyed him curiously.

Suddenly or perhaps not, the woman threw her arms around Harry and kissed him on the lips.

He returned the kiss.

Lois paused, her eyes widened and words failed.

'_I don't believe it, they're now crash landing in front of him,' _Lois thought to herself with a sigh.

**To Be Continued in the Next Part.**


	16. Chapter 16: Escape Part Two

**Chapter Sixteen: Escape Part Two.**

The feel of the young alien female's lips pressing upon his was an amazing thing. As the two of them continued to kiss he felt the warmth of her body against his. There was a sense that time seemed to stop around them as her tongue probed his mouth and the kiss between them deepened. The female gave a long sigh as she pulled away slightly, only to nibble on his lower lip for a moment lost in the pleasure of the intimacy shared between the two of them.

Reluctantly despite the fluttering she felt in the pit of her stomach and the warmth passing through her body the alien female broke the physical contact between them.

"I thank you for that," she told him with a smile on her face. Kara, Karen, M'Gann, and Lois mouths hung open in shock from where they stood off to the side. All four of them collected themselves after a moment or two but not before sharing looks of disbelief at Harry's luck. "It was necessary to learn your language, although due to the fact you know several, the process took longer then it would normally. So the kiss between us needed to be extended. I hope you do not mind."

Harry looked at her with a raised eyebrow, as if anyone would mind if a hot alien female practically stuck her tongue down their throat.

"I must say, there is much more to you than meets the eye," the princess stated as she looked at him before loud noise from behind caused her look over her shoulder and take note of the military force arrayed against them. "They do not look too happy."

"They never are," Harry told the woman causing her to nod at his words. He levitated several pieces of the rubble up in order to give them some cover. Another spell jammed their weapons, although this would only be temporary at best.

'_We've got to head out of here, and soon,' _Kara thought to him as there was another whirling sound that happened over her head.

'_Yeah, I'm working on it, don't worry, we'll get it,' _Harry thought to the blonde woman as he peered over his shoulder to get a closer look.

The orange skinned female grabbed him around the shoulder as she'd sensed something. This something obviously put her in a hair trigger as she felt something stir in her stomach. The woman edged a half of a step towards him and her heart beat.

"They're coming," she breathed to him with a great deal of distress present in her voice and she clung onto Harry's arm in hopes of drawing some measure of strength from him. Despite the seriousness of the situation they were in he really couldn't help but notice that her long red hair fall nearly to her ankles.

"The people that were after you?" Harry asked the woman and she lowered her gazed towards the ground for what felt like an eternity to her, but really only lasted for the length it took for her heart to beat once within her chest.

She nodded her head furiously and Harry picked up the thoughts form her eyes, there was a few problems with what was happening. At least they could easily slip away if need be without any causalities.

"You will surrender the prisoner or face annihilation!"

A ship hovered above them. Turning his head to look over his shoulder at Kara he gave an ever so brief nod. The blonde swayed in the shadows before her eyes lit up and she let loose with a blast of heat vision that caught the ship in it's side and then it was Karen's turn to offer her input.

Said input was a huge punch to the area of the ship already affected by Kara's initial attack. That was followed up by her tearing a huge clunk out of the ship which caused it to fly around erratically before nearly crashing into the ground.

The busty blonde Kryptonian dropped down next to Harry, her chest heaving in and out. There was something about what happened that made her think that things did not work out as well as she thought that they might. This was almost too easy, at least that's the way it seemed.

It seemed that way, because that's what it looked like. Harry looked up and his hand shook nervously although he tried not to show it. Fear was not something that he could show, at least not outwardly, at least not yet. He was sandwiched between two governments and was about to have a close encounter with one of them. He knew which one he could handle but the other one, until he got more information about them, he was fighting on a pool of quicksand.

'_We're going to have to regroup,' _Harry thought as he cast a field out which stalled everything.

'_Didn't expect you to be the one who would run from a fight,' _Kara thought in surprise but she saw what Harry was coming from. The blonde felt a twisting motion deep within her stomach and she followed the progress of the ships above her.

There was something about these space crafts that she didn't like. The blonde watched them as Harry gripped her by the shoulder. She stood rigid and she understood that it was time for them to beat a quick escape. The easiest way to do that was to teleport back to the Shining Light Foundation, so they could regroup.

Harry closed his eyes and there was a flash that issued outwards from him. Hopefully it would block the alien beings after them from attempting to track them down. Whilst the Shining Light Foundation had security that was state of the art and being improved on daily, he did not want to take any chances.

The group now inside the Shining Light Foundation, let out the collective breaths that they were holding from within their body.

The group was now inside the Shining Light Foundation, letting out the breaths that they were holding from within their body.

Harry thought that his heart was about to jump through his throat, he narrowly evaded all attacks. The wizard's eyes flashed for a second as he saw the readings from the ships and was formulating a counter strategy.

"We may have escaped the threat, but it will return," the alien female told Harry as she turned towards him. She had heard legends of someone like him previously but she did not want to say anything, at least until she knew for sure.

"And that's…."

"The people who are after me, they will not rest until I am brought into their custody, but thank you, thank you very much for saving me," she offered as she pressed her ample breasts against his chest and gave him another kiss, this one out of gratitude. "You are extremely strong and powerful…."

"Well, I think that we can start off with you tell me your name," Harry suggested to the woman and she offered him a smile.

"My name is Princess Koriand'r of the Planet Tamaran."

Now they were getting somewhere, as Harry suspected that was who she was.

* * *

"Well…..that's going to be a problem, isn't it?"

Harry knew that statement was one that he should anticipate with the greatest amount of dread. Actually in his experience, he felt that statement was always an awful thing, no matter whose mouth it came out of. The young blonde who said these words watched Harry as a breath escaped the young blonde's mouth.

"You just really know how to put the bright spin on everything, don't you?" Harry asked Chloe with the two of them locking their eyes onto each others.

Chloe commented with a smile on her face. "I do try, really, I do try."

"I know you do, but we've got the princess and our other guests to deal with," Harry said as he looked towards Medusa.

"They might be agents of the darkness," Medusa whispered to Harry and the young wizard turned a raised eyebrow towards her. There was a slight pause that existed between both of them. "It's a hard thing to figure out, isn't it?"

"I know, when I think that I have all of the answers, everyone keeps changing all of the questions," Harry commented as he placed his hand on Medusa's. The two of them took a few seconds to consider their options. "This has to do with why you're here."

"This has everything to do with why I'm here," Medusa agreed with him as she locked her eyes onto him. The redhead fully understood what was at stake now.

Koriand'r shifted on her feet nervously and Harry did not say anything. He could tell that she was extremely frustrated, hell if he was in her shoes, he would be frustrated as well. So he could see where she was coming from. He stepped towards her, bringing his arm around her waist and pulled her in towards him tightly.

"How long have you been…."

"I was in that pit for longer than I care to remember. It was obvious that they were trying to break down my mind." She chimed in, a frustrated tone to her voice. It did not fit her bright and cheery demeanor at all.

'_Make her mentally unable to resist their commands, turn her a living doll,' _Chloe thought to Harry as she with a long sigh. _'It's not surprising at all that they'd do something like this.'_

Not surprising perhaps but it was very horrifying never the less.

"They are a dangerous race of people and now that they're here….your planet is in terrible danger," Kory stated as she shifted on her feet but Harry reassured her with a brief squeeze of her hand "It was a mistake for me to come here, I had hoped that I would be able to make it safely without detection but my pod it ran out of fuel."

"Not your fault, not entirely," M'gann chimed in, the young white Martian had been extremely quiet for a time. However, she could not stand by and silently watch the other alien girl suffer.

"Thank you," Kory stated in a gracious voice as she watched everything around her. She felt the sense that she was going to fit in well, although some people on this world that would consider her to be a bit strange. Then again, what person was not a bit strange?

Then again, the young princess embraced the strange. Her heart gave a huge jump as her eyes darted around nervously.

Indy turned up, offering everyone a smile but then she got straight down to business. Her red hair was clipped back and her violet eyes were glowing. Her blue skin was exposed, although she could switch to a normal more human form, although she looked like Chloe's younger sister when she did that. She wore a tight black top that wrapped around her body and a black skirt that went down past her knees. Black boots covered her feet as she took her strides forward.

"Is there a problem, Indy?" Harry asked her.

The young technician offered a frustrated expression. "Someone is trying to break through the defenses."

"Oh...of course they are," Chloe commented as she turned her head towards the computer and a frown crossed her face. "You know, they shouldn't even be able to get in through the front door."

"They shouldn't," Harry agreed but he knew by now that fool proof security was pretty much a pipe dream. He knew by now that no security system was completely secure. That had been proven time and time again.

"Kara, Karen, let's see if we take care of this," Harry whispered to the females and they both nodded.

The three Heralds of Death got into position, all three of them were ready and willing to go. The three of them sensed that there was something trying to bust on through from the other side. Kara and Karen's hearts beat rapidly against their chests as the two of them watched, alongside Harry.

'_Okay, we're almost….they won't get through,' _Harry thought to them but he decided to add a but to his statement. _'They won't get through but they could cause some damage.'_

'_Wonderful,' _Kara thought as she felt frustration bubble through her very being and she wondered when this would end. Thankfully her children were not in the main Shining Light Foundation complex, which was only a small favor.

'_Diana, Zatanna, Shayera, we might need some high powered backup,' _Harry called through the bond link.

'_Looking forward to it,' _Shayera told as she clenched her hands around the heft of her mace and was ready and willing to bust more than a few skulls. The redhead woman made her way forward. Diana and Zatanna were ready to go beside her.

"You won't let them hurt anyone?" Kory inquired of Harry and determination flared through his eyes as he said a few words.

"_Not if I can help it."_

It was time for them to go up against an enemy that might be as big of a challenge as anything they have ever faced and that was covering some outstanding ground.

* * *

Harry Potter didn't wilt under pressure, in truth he thrived on it. He was ready to go after having done a quick sweep on the threats around him.

'_There are drones there, there, and there,' _Harry thought to the group as he held onto both Kara and Karen hands as the trio hovered above the ground; there was no question about it, they were ready.

They could see the glowing drones rotating above them and Kara lifted her hand to point at them. The blonde bit down on her lip harshly as she turned her head to look towards a potential threat.

'_We'll get it,' _Harry told the blond his encouraging words helping her to relax. The three Heralds of Death watched everything carefully, intertwining their fingers together.

The term moment of truth was thrown around very loosely but this was the moment of truth.

'_On your mark,' _Harry told the two girls and they smiled. It was now do or die time.

Their eyes glowed to life as they measured it, as they prepared to fire heat vision at it in order to back it off. They locked onto the ship, they wanted to hit it in just the right location to get their attention so they could move them away from the city. Their eyes locked on carefully onto the target all three Heralds of Death fired off a burst towards it and there was a huge explosion as the beams connected with their target.

A trio of pods dropped down onto the ground. Karen moved over but an energy field appeared around it. The blonde strained to push through it, sweat pouring down her face.

"STAY BACK!"

Shayera jumped up into the air then slammed her mace into the side of the machine. There was a rumbling echo all around them as the nth metal bludgeon crashed into it. The woman clenched her teeth together and felt the mace rattle back as she slammed it against the barrier. Again and again, the mace cracked against it but she was no closer to getting through than she was before.

"No good," Shayera breathed in frustration as she saw Zatanna try her luck.

She was equally frustrated as her magical attack was repelled by the ship. She was trying not to become even more frustrated then she already, although it was very hard not to.

"STAND BACK!"

That was the command that given by Harry as he tried to ding the edge of the ship and he flew backwards to strike it over and over again. However, he was not getting through. No matter what, he was engaged in a titanic struggle where both magic and physical force did not work.

With a great deal of effort, and help from his other Heralds, they broke through with a loud sonic boom. There was an alien inside with reptilian skin who was pulled out and he had a forked tongue which slithered nastily at them. He kicked his feet from one side to the next as he tried to get out of Karen's grip as she'd grabbed him around the throat. There was no getting out of the grip that she had around his neck as she swung him around and smashed him hard against into the ground.

"Shut down the ships!"

There was a laugh from the reptilian faced alien and Karen was this close to losing her patience. Her patience always stood on a hair trigger to begin with and the blonde's gaze locked onto him as she glared with murderous intentions in her eyes. There was a thunderous laughter that got louder and louder, coming extremely close to making the blonde lose her patience. In fact she did lose her patience and there was a demanding statement that spat out of her lips.

"What do you find so funny?"

"The fact that you think that you could stop us, you humans are nothing," the alien said as he glared at them. "We will tear this mudball apart."

Harry paused as he analyzed them, there was something extremely off about them, in fact there was something that was more off about them then he realized at initial contact. He needed to watch his two wives and locked on the two of them. The herald could feel darkness coming off of them.

'_It's the same darkness that I saw from the female fury that we captured,' _Harry thought as he continued to study the alien.

Diana using her power and speed smashed through three of the attackers. She finished it off by suplexing one into the ground with a sickening crack. Causing a huge impact that rocked everything around them. With that done the Amazon Princess rolled up onto her feet.

"Got them," Diana offered as she raised her arms into the air but she got to work and wrapped her lasso tightly around the one Karen had pinned to the ground.

"Who sent you here?" Kara demanded.

Laughter echoed and they could see something horrifying flowing through the eyes of the enemy. It was the type of laughter that sent chills down your spine.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with do you?" the enemy asked as he watched them and Harry took a threatening step towards him.

"I have a good idea, but I think that it's you who doesn't any idea who your dealing with," Harry said as he bent down and forced the enemy to face him.

"You don't….child you will be obliterated once I get my hands on you."

Harry could tell that something had forced a change in the creature and there was a few seconds where he was filled with apprehension. He also thought that there were more ships on the way but apparently not. There was a huge boom that resounded out of no where and the remaining ships were pulled through the portal that opened above them.

'_Harry, I picked up on something,' _Chloe thought as she bit down on her lip and there was a few seconds where she felt nervous, almost afraid to spill the beans.

Harry was not about to wait for anything, no he wanted Chloe to tell him.

'_Spill Chloe,' _Harry thought to her as he braced himself for what she was about to tell him although by now he was getting a clearer picture

Sure enough, Chloe did in fact spill.'_Luthor, he had agents observing the situation and I think he's the one who sent the invaders back to where they came from through the portal that opened just now. Other than the ones you captured I mean, although I imagine that he captured some of them as well.'_

Harry smiled, he figured as much. It was like a chess game although they were locked in deadlock with no end at sight.

* * *

Harrison stood with his hands steepled in front of his face as he observed the two captive aliens in front of him. He knew that there was a method to their madness; it was no accident that alien's pod got lured to Earth.

"So," Harrison said to the aliens who he had restrained in two modified stasis pods. If they stepped one foot out of line he could liquify them into their component parts in an instant. "I know you can hear me and I know you can transmit thoughts even though you are unable to speak. I did not find your attempts to cause wanton property damage to be all that amusing so I suggest you tread carefully."

There was a sense that he was being ignored by these aliens which was fine. Harrison would allow them to play this game; he could play one of his own. His green eyes flowed with even stronger determination as he brushed his hair out of his face.

"Nothing at all," Harrison whispered to the aliens as they twitched. "You know, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, but the result is just the same for me. You may be victims of circumstance but you still agreed to let him into your hearts and minds."

"You don't understand anything," one of the aliens whispered when Harrison had given him back the ability to speak. There was an instant where the young man watched him, almost amused by the fact that these aliens thought that they would win this game with him.

"I'm a twelfth level intellect. Which means I'm fully capable of comprehending more things than you could ever understand," Harrison stated to him, speaking in an even voice. Throwing the ball back into their court.

They refused to say anything further and Harrison understood that the darkness that roamed through their body, ensnaring their hearts and their minds left them very little ability to think for themselves. The young man continued to watch them silently with an eerie calmness in his eyes, he could play this game as long as they could. He was a master of playing the game.

The aliens were silent and Harrison understood that they refused point blank to say what needed to be said. The wizard felt mildly annoyed although he refused to admit that he was frustrated.

He'd dealt with stubborn people before in the world of business but these two aliens were in another class of their own. He sighed regarding their lack of cooperation.

'_You want to be difficult, fine, I can do difficult,' _Harrison offered as he stepped back and nearly ran into Ultrawoman who showed up alongside Fury.

"Any luck?" The Amazon asked her lover and Harrison shook his head in the negative.

"I wish I could say that I have luck but that would make a liar out of me, along with a fool," he offered to the two of them as he stood up straight. "We are at the apex of unmistakable darkness."

This statement had no humor; it was completely and utterly serious. His girls never saw Harrison speak of something that seriously and both of them wondered if he was going to bring up any more information.

"That's…."

"Yes it is," Harrison agreed, the women had no need to spill anything further of their mouths, Harrison knew everything that they were going to say, right before they said it. They were his girls after all and their minds where intertwined as one. "Both of you did some extraordinary work."

Ultrawoman decided to throw out some credit where credit was due. "Gwen did her part, she helped find the signal and we blasted them back to where they came from."

"And she added a little extra to make sure that they would not find their way back here," Fury offered and Harrison smiled at the woman.

"Very good, I didn't expect anything less," Harrison told both of his girls. "We're going to find out what happens….I believe Doctor Essex wishes to speak to me, so we'll finish this conversation later."

The two of them left, as they each stole a kiss from their mate. Harrison spun around and his eyes locked on the shifty man who waited for him, slinking in the shadows.

"Mr. Luthor," Essex offered to him and the man spoke in a polite tone although he would do something devious if he could get away with it.

"Hello, Doctor Essex, is the project that I've trusted you with ready?" Harrison asked as he watched the man. Despite the precautions that he put in place to ensure that there was not a double cross, Harrison knew better to leave anything to chance.

"It's moving along quite well but what…."

"You don't get to question my motivations, you just do as I instruct to," Harrison offered him and Essex gave him a respectful, albeit mocking, bow.

"The first one is ready," Essex commented as he pointed in the direction down the hallway.

"Then show her to me," Harrison commented. This experiment was necessary to ensure that he would be able to reverse the damage that the fool known as Lionel Luthor caused. He'd ruined everything years and years of well laid plans.

Harrison walked down the hallway as Essex showed him the way. Ultrawoman and Fury joined him a short time later, not trusting their mate to be in the same room with him.

The young man stopped and his eyes fixed on everything in the tube.

"Memories are a blank slate for now, although it would be hard to input new memories in or remove her old ones at this state," Essex told him and Harrison offered him a stiff nod. "Project Galatea is a success, sir."

Harrison smiled as he saw the blonde Kryptonian in the tube.

'_She sure is,' _Harrison offered as he saw the female but she was one step. There were two more tubes but she would be the initial prototype.

He had no idea what Lionel did to Karen in that world but he would undo it in a hope to give her the chance at happiness she was unable to find with him. He could tell that Potter was frustrated by his inability to reverse the damage done to her as well.

'_Soon, it will all be in order,' _Harrison thought as he ran his hand down the edge of the tube, seeing the sleeping blonde Kryptonian.

The blonde was not sleeping, she was aware of what was happening. There were memories in her mind, strong ones, and she knew who she needed to find.

She must find a way to escape.

* * *

Medusa looked outside the window over at Metropolis.

"Beautiful isn't it?"

The woman looked over her shoulder and saw Harry standing behind her. The smile on his face was one that grew stronger the longer that he stood there. It was completely intoxicating and it was hard not to be ensnared by it.

"I would assume that you're not referring to the view out here, well not entirely at least," she commented as she watched Harry, who offered her a slight raise of his eyebrow.

"Well it depends on what I'm referring to but you'd be right, it's not the view I'm referring to, at least not entirely," Harry offered as she shifted on her feet and he could tell that she was finding it extremely hard to concentrate. "So, you were sent here and you got thrown into the thick of things."

"I may be of royal descent but I do relish the opportunity to fight my own battles," she told Harry as the two of them looked into each others eyes. "I hope you understand that you've got an amazing opportunity here that comes along once in a life time."

She could be referring to so very many things but there was only one statement that popped out of Harry's mouth that could pertain to what she was really saying.

"I understand," Harry informed her, no more needed to be said.

Kara showed up behind Harry.

"I thought you went to sleep," Harry whispered to her.

"Harry, I need to speak with you, it's urgent," Kara said to him and Harry raised an eyebrow. If his wife said that it was urgent, it likely was.

"It's not one of the girls…."

"No nothing like that," Kara amended as she cut off the very real worry that Harry had. She moved closer so only Harry could hear her. She was too upset to think clearly and thus did not use the mental communication "It's about….well it's about the dream that I had the other night."

"You had it again, didn't you?" Harry asked Kara and she nodded.

"Yeah, I did, and it's weird, it's a place I've never seen in my life," Kara offered Harry and the young blonde rocked her head back with a poignant sigh. "There are answers that I need to find."

"And we'll seek them together, the both of us, you have to have faith in that, my love," Harry told her as he placed his arms around Kara and the blonde relaxed into his embrace. It was extremely comforting and eased her slightly. "Chin up, honey, you know…"

"Yeah, it could be a method to mess with my mind," Kara offered as he sat her down.

"I'll figure out what's causing this in no time, don't worry," Harry breathed to Kara and the blonde offered him a smile as well as a statement that increased his self-esteem.

"Never worried, as long as I and the rest of the world have you, there's no reason to be worried."

Harry did not say anything other than allow a smile, a shadow of one, to creep over his face. He ran his fingers down Kara's cheek and pulled her hair back to get a better look in her bright blue eyes.

The blond relaxed slightly although she had that sense that Harry was staring into the very being of her and this caused her to have half of a shudder, half of a relaxed look. The blonde was not going to falter no matter what, no matter what, no matter how much she did not need it, Harry would still protect her.

'_Any luck,' _Karen thought to Harry.

'_Have you been…'_

'_Yes,' _Karen confirmed to him and she added quickly. _'And it's getting kind of weird, I don't know what to make about this at all .'_

'_Well, we are trying to figure that point out, if I can get on through, pick up the link,' _Harry thought to the blonde on the other end.

'_It's almost like one of those links that's between twins, there are rumors that if one twin suffers pain, the other can feel it but I don't really know how this…'_

'_I'm not sure what to make of this,' _Harry commented to the blonde through the bond link, the more that he thought about this, the more frustrated he became and Harry was a person who loathed when something made him frustrated.

'_It's weird, these memories.'_

'_I thought we established this already,' _Harry thought to her and Kara frowned as she crossed her arms. She remembered a situation, a scenario, which she did not live.

Harry's hand grabbed hers with a tight squeeze and this allowed her to get strength to be encouraged more by this.

'_M'gann could you help me make heads or tails of this?' _Harry asked the young Martian girl and she popped in.

M'gann frowned as she shifted through the mental link and she stopped, feeling like she hit a wall.

'_Anything?' _Harry asked the Martian and she shook her head in negative. She stood right next to Harry and Kara and hoped onto the bond link.

'_It's almost like a half completed bond link,' _M'gann thought as she bit down on her lip. _'I don't even know how it got in Kara's mind, there's no subliminal triggers or anything, just memories.'_

Kara hung her head as Harry held her in a hug.

"We'll figure this one out," Harry commented as he leaned towards Kara and pressed her lips firmly into him and she returned the favor.

Her spirits brightened and a teasing expression locked onto Harry's eyes.

"I think someone wants to give you a thank you for the rescue, I'll head back home to check on Claire and Amanda, talk to you later," Kara stated as she leaned towards Harry and kissed him on the lips.

The kiss lingered for several moments before it broke.

"Love you," Harry commented as he pushed away from Kara and the blonde gave him a smile.

"Love you too," Kara whispered as she rushed off.

Kory stood there, wearing nothing but a bathrobe, although it was still more clothes then she first met Harry in.

"Hello Harry, I hope that this isn't a bad time," Kory told him as she saw Harry, and took particular notice of his strong hands.

"No, it's not a bad time, not at all," Harry offered the redhead as he wondered what she was going to say. "So…"

"You saved my life," Kory offered as she threw herself at Harry like a ballistic missile and slammed him into the desk. Her lips found his with burning passion as the two of them kissed.

This kiss caused pheromones to appear in the air as Kory straddled Harry's lap.

"It is a debt, that I must pay, I insist upon it," Kory offered as she pushed her hand down Harry's trousers and gripped his thick phallus.

She was the type of girl that did not beat around the bush and Harry appreciated that, he really did.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends. **

**To Be Continued in the Next Chapter.**


	17. Chapter 17: Twisted Reflection

**Chapter Seventeen: Twisted Reflection.**

Kara's eyes snapped open as her heart pounded at a rapid fire pace within her chest. There was a loud thump, thump, thump that would not stop. She noticed, much to her horror, that she was strapped to a table. No matter how much she struggled to break free, the straps would just get even tighter around her and keep her firmly in place.

'_Soon, you will serve your purpose,' _a voice whispered as Kara tried to frantically struggle out of her bindings but found any attempt to do so to be futile.

Kara was about ready to lose her mind, her breathing quickened as she tried to snap the straps. The blonde's ice blue eyes flooded with fear as she saw the surgical tools laying on the table across from her. Another desperate bid to free herself worked no better than the previous two.

'_Soon, you will feel the liberation.'_

Kara swallowed a lump in her throat as she thrashed and squirmed. The blonde had lost herself to her fear a long time again. She desperately fought to break free of the bindings again but there was no way out.

'_Soon you will right the wrongs.'_

Kara thrashed back and forth, on the edge of madness. The straps were even tighter than ever, cutting into her skin.

'_Damn it, damn it,' _Kara thought to herself, just as she was about to break free she found herself snapping back into place, back to square one. There was no way for her to get out and her heart beat even faster. She tried to access her powers but found nothing.

The blonde caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and Kara tried to free herself. There was something distorted about what she saw in the mirror, a really twisted mockery. She could barely make out the blur but that was not her, not at all.

"KARA!"

There was a loud pounding sensation that went through her head as Kara felt like she was lost in the fog. A man with a chalk white face peered down upon her, holding a needle that dripped with modified Kryptonite. Her mind was about ready to snap from the terror and the scream in the back of her head increased in intensity.

"KARA!"

The blonde blocked the screams out of her mind and her breathing got even more panicked, her fear hit a fever pitch. She was trembling like a leaf as she struggled frantically to free herself from the straps. Thrashing about wildly in her attempt to break free.

The blonde saw bright a flash around her and there was a shattering of glass as her eyes lit up. She tried to blast him, to set herself free.

"KARA!"

This firm yell brought her out of her dreams and the blonde's head whipped backwards as her heart drummed against her ribs. She was fought desperately to bring fresh air into her lungs as she felt Harry put his arms around her and pull her up into a sitting position. She had a look of stunned horror in her eyes, it took her a while to realize that she was with Harry and thus nothing could harm her while she was in his arms.

"Kara, your heart nearly stopped," Harry breathed out to her in a terrified voice as he held her in his arms.

Kara's eyes widened as she could not get her wits together. The blonde was about to come undone as she bit down on her trembling lip. This was one of the most horrific, not to mention realistic nightmares that she'd ever experienced.

"What's happening to me?" Kara asked as she looked into Harry's eyes. A look of complete and utter fear could be seen in her eyes.

The blonde pressed herself even more tightly into his arms as Harry hung onto her lithe waist, the blonde looking up at him with questioning eyes.

"They're getting stronger," Kara breathed out, before taking another deep breath in. She couldn't believe that this was happening. The blonde's hands were cold and clammy as she tried to rub them together to warm them up. Harry tilted her head back and his lips found hers in a reassuring kiss. The two of them held the kiss for a long moment before breaking apart with a prominent sigh. Kara still trying to get her thoughts back together.

Kara looked in the mirror; it was almost like she could see into the lab of her dreams.

The blonde closed her eyes and she felt a frigid chill that spread from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She closed her eyes and once again saw the chalk white face that filled her with terror, as it stared down at her while she was as helpless as a drowned kitten.

"I know there's a problem, and we'll find it," Harry whispered in Kara's ear and the blonde felt the arms of her bonded tighten around her.

The blonde did her best to keep herself together.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this, no matter what," Harry whispered to Kara.

Claire was at the edge of the door.

"What's happening?" Claire asked as she looked at her parents with an inquisitive gaze.

"Nothing Claire, it's just a nightmare, nothing that you need to worry about," Kara said as she felt her head throbbing.

Claire frowned and her response got heated. "Yeah, because I'm not able to understand anything that you tell me. It's like I'm always ten or something in your eyes!"

"Claire, don't worry about it, go back to bed," Harry told her in a firm voice. He almost regretted being so sharp but the fact that his Alpha's heart nearly stopped made his temper a bit short.

Claire turned around and Harry saw that the walls burst into flames as she walked off in a temper.

Kara saw the anger and frustration in her daughter's eyes and she looked worried.

"Harry…."

"One crisis at a time, love, one crisis at a time," Harry breathed as he tightened the hug.

He shook his head; there was no way that he was that bad he was a teenager, once again lying to himself about just how much of a moody bastard he had been. The blonde's eyes closing as Harry lead her down towards the Shining Light Foundation medical facility.

'_M'gann, keep an eye on Amanda and Claire, we're going to have to deal with this,' _Harry thought as he helped his wife move.

'_Right, no problem,' _M'gann thought.

* * *

Kara stared forward as she tried to piece together the details of the dream so she could find out why she was having them.

She was sitting on an examination table within the Shining Light Foundation's medical facility. She hoped that she could figure out what was happening and soon so she could get some peace of mind.

Hope arrived at that moment to join them. She had been trying to get settled into this new world although she was struggling to adapt. The redhead stopped short of the door and saw the disturbed look in Kara's eyes. She turned to face Harry hoping he had some answers.

"She's not okay, is she?" Hope asked Harry.

She realized immediately that was a stupid question and felt as much for asking it. Harry had Kara restrained a slight amount although she kept instinctively flinching.

"Maybe it's him, maybe it's….Darkseid…."

"It's not Darkseid."

Harry, Kara, and Hope turned around to see Tess approaching them from the hallway. Despite the fact that it was late at night, she was dressed for business. The redhead woman slipped inside the room and got right down to business.

Harry wondered how she knew this so he cut to the chase. "And how…."

"Do I know?" Tess asked and Harry nodded in response. The woman informing Harry about what she found out. "I'm not sure if you remember, but there was genetic material at LuthorCorp."

"Yes, I remember, it was a contingency plan in case any of us went rogue," Harry offered Tess, as he knew that the problem with contingency plans where they could be turned around and used by an enemy. However, at the time it was meant to be a last ditch failsafe.

"I wasn't able to liberate it from LuthorCorp. Luthor more or less restricted me to my office for the remainder of the day once he took control. Though before I got locked out, I was able to destroy some of it using what access I had from my office computer," Tess explained to Harry.

Kara wondered what this had to do with her, then it hit her.

"When clones created, a sort of psychic link ends up being created between it and the original," Kara informed the two of them as she placed a hand on the top of her head. "Although most people aren't cloned when they are still alive, this particular cloning process is frowned upon even on Krypton. The double can come out twisted."

"Not necessarily," Harry stated, thinking of the Kandorian clones, most of them turned out fine. The women especially. There was Zod of course, but Zod was already twisted by the time he was cloned at Kandor. So he was the exception to the rule.

"Jor-El's method to clone them was a one in a million fluke, and he knew that there was a chance that it would turn out for the worst," Kara argued as she looked into the mirror and she flinched at what she saw or perhaps did not see.

She saw her reflection but there was a hint of something else, lurking in the sides. She could almost see a faint image of the clone.

"It sounds like his work," Hope said and there was a sense that her mind was about ready to go wild with her own fear, but a swift look from Harry who took her hand in his and squeezed it

"Sinister, yes I know," Harry agreed with her.

They'd taken Sinister down during their last encounter but they also hadn't found a body. If there was one rule that Harry understood better then most about being a hero, it was that if there was no body, then there was no guarantee that the person was dead. Especially when one was talking about someone like Sinister, who seemed to have more lives than a bag of cats.

"Harrison Luthor is many things, but stupid he is not," Karen admitted grudgingly as she hung in the shadows. The blonde kept her eyes on Kara and offered her a reassuring smile. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Kara stated but she did not feel fine. She felt like she was now one half of a whole.

"If she's a part of you, you'll never be free until you find her and come to terms with her," Hope informed Kara. It could mess with the minds of people, which she knew that from experience given that she knew people who were cloned. There was also that mess in her world involving a certain Web Slinger and clones that gave her a headache to think about. Though the female one had been rather pretty.

Kara thought that she had a point.

"We're going to have to find her but when my eyes are open, I feel nothing."

"Kara, do you think you can describe that lab?" Tess asked her.

Kara smiled as she cobbled together the details in her mind the best she could, even though many of them were vague.

"The walls are grey, although the ceiling is black," Kara said as she fished through her mind and more details presented themselves to her. "There are a few chambers off into the back. Essex came out of an office, it had filing cabinets. There was a set of spiraling stairs off to the side, and then….there was a closet with a rusty door knob and the ceiling had tiles that were chipped out."

Tess was about ready to figure out where Kara was dreaming about although she was this close to pinpointing where the lab is.

"Is there anything else?" Tess asked Kara.

Kara nodded as she thought about it. "Yeah, there's a huge crack in the ceiling, it's like an "X", only crooked I supposed."

Harry got the location as did Tess. Karen recognized it.

"So, are you thinking of the place that I think that you're thinking of?" Harry asked Tess, who nodded.

"It's still on the books, although it's been abandoned for a few years," Tess commented and there was a few seconds where she paused for dramatic effect. Although all four of them knew where she was talking about. She decided to say it anyway. "Cadmus Labs."

It was time for Harry to have a little chit-chat with his alternate dimension counterpart about why he thought it was a good idea to try to clone his wife, unless it was Essex working off of the books. In any event, it was time to have a chat.

* * *

"I thought I told you not to wake her up until her mind had stabilized," Harrison told Sinister in frustration. He was not happy to see that his trial run was not working as he had planned.

Essex watched his boss who restrained himself from destroying Essex then and there. Though Harrison couldn't help but feel like it was a mistake not to.

"It's a minor problem. Trust me, it's nothing that I'm unable to control," Essex commented with a brisk tone to his voice but that was precisely the wrong thing to say to the man in front of him.

"You think that I don't know exactly what happened?" Harrison told him with a fixed expression across his face. "You where fucking around outside of the parameters given to you. As a result the little science experiment that you were trying to do, got out of control. I want you to get it under control and I want it back under control yesterday."

Essex turned his head towards the tube where the blonde clone was secured. There were a few different solutions that roamed through his mind and none of them were pleasant whatsoever. He needed more time if he was going to enact his plans.

"Just to cut off that train of thought right now. You are to salvage this without killing the clone. I know there's a way to do so," Harrison told him.

He knew that if the clone was destroyed, it could cause serious damage to the original. She felt everything that the clone did, hence why Harrison was so hacked off when he found out that the mind link was opened.

Fear flooded Essex's face although he tried not to show it.

"It will be done."

"Words are cheap, actions speak…." Harrison stopped and then he paused.

Essex noticed that the man paused and offered a raised eyebrow. "Is something the matter?"

"You will be silent now," Harrison demanded.

He'd hoped to never have this conversation. Going face to face with himself, in a matter of speaking, was never something that he relished and considering Potter and his collective seemed to think that he ate babies any conversation between the two of them tended to be hostile right from the get go.

He heard him go up the stairs so Harrison decided to meet his counterpart halfway.

Harry waited for Harrison at the edge of the stairs and the mirror copies stared at each other. The young Luthor broke the silence.

"You know, it's customary to contact someone before arriving," Harrison commented with a smile that was not returned.

"I know what you're doing, and you better stop, because you're giving my wife nightmares," Harry told him and Harrison raised an inquiring eyebrow.

Harrison suspected that he best choose his next words with extreme care.

"You think, you know what I'm doing. But nightmares, that does sounds serious," He commented with a serious to his voice and Harry looked back at him without any humor in his eyes. "You can't be fooled, I know that. Although give who you were merged with, I was actually worried that there were residual moments of stupidity that cannot be helped."

Harry was not amused.

"What is your game?"

"No game." Harrison offered, although the disbelieving gaze that looked back at him was much like looking through a mirror. "I didn't intend for it to go this far but…."

"You accidentally cloned Kara? Something about that rings false," Harry said slowly and the young businessman across from him folded his arms over his chest.

"No, I cloned her on purpose. Nothing I do is accidental," Harrison admitted as he leaned back against the wall. "I also always have a reason for what I do and in this case if you knew the circumstances…."

"If you're going to pull the it's not personal, it's only business statement, you should save it," Harry said curtly. He was this close to having a fit of rage but he held it back.

Harrison once again smiled.

"You didn't let me finish, but once again, I figured that merging with Kal-El would make you stubborn," Harrison commented lightly but he was interrupted by a pounding on the other side of the door.

'_Harry, she's trying to escape, I can feel it,' _Kara thought to her bonded urgently and Harry turned to look in his identical but slightly different, weird as that may seem, pair of green eyes.

"You know, you've given me no reason to trust you," Harry told Harrison.

"I did assist you last week by shutting down the ships. Something that your fabled master computer, not to mention your supposed genius hacker, couldn't do," Harrison stated bluntly to him.

'_Did he just….imply that he had someone better with computers than I am?' _Chloe thought in a hurt voice.

'_Not now Chloe, not now,' _Harry warned her.

Harrison sensed that there was a mental press conference going on and given that he did the same things with his girls, it would be really bad form to break it up, not to mention quite rude. Though he couldn't help but wonder why Potter wasn't able to multitask yet.

"Do you think…"

There was a repetitive smashing sound from the other side of the metal door, which was the very obvious tell-tale sign that someone was busting through it.

"...Oh don't tell me."

It couldn't be, it shouldn't be, yet it was. Harrison's frown got even wider as he face palmed for a moment and cursed the stupidity of idiots under his breath, then braced himself for what was going to happen next.

"God damn fucking Essex. What the hell is he playing at?" Harrison hissed in Parseltongue.

'_Should I…' _Ultrawoman started to ask him.

'_Yes, Kara, take care of it,' _Harrison thought back to her. There was another loud smashing sound from the other side of the door.

"So you have everything under control?" Harry commented his double and Harrison whistled casually.

There was another rumbling sound as bodies hit the ground.

Ultrawoman was knocked flying backwards against the wall. She landed with a crack, her body denting the wall from the impact, slightly injured from the attack.

The blonde stepped out. She had slightly shorter hair than Kara and her eyes were a bit of a greenish-blue as opposed to the bright blue that Kara had.

She zeroed in on Harrison and saw that he was like her mate but he had a stench on him that was all wrong.

Her hands found the throat of Harrison and slammed him against the wall. He was all wrong; therefore, he did not belong.

Therefore, Galatea would destroy him.

"There can only be one!" she yelled as he smashed Harrison through the window and sent him flying to the streets below.

Harrison felt Galatea's punch nail him in the face and another brutal one follow that up with an equal amount of fury. He deflected a second one and a third one.

"FIGHT BACK!"

He could have easily done so but it would have made things worse. Harrison was on the ground trying to pull himself up.

Galatea dropped down to the ground to the right of Harrison.

"You shouldn't have tried to undercut him," Galatea commented as her eyes lit up and she tried to barbeque him with her powers.

Her mind was not completely stabilized; hence why she was trying to take out an assumed enemy, that she thought was going to attack her. Even though he did not lift a finger to her at all, her mind assessed the threat and she acted accordingly.

"You shouldn't have tried to take his place," Galatea said as her eyes glowed menacingly.

"Do you know who you are?" Harrison asked as Galatea grabbed him around the throat. He managed to block her chokehold but she tried to find his throat once again.

She punched a wall.

"I know who you aren't," Galatea commented as she cracked him back first into a wall. She tried to kick him but he popped out of the way. "You better fight back or you will be annihilated."

She wanted to break every single bone in his body and leave him broken at her feet. Though if he was more slippery than an eel, that was hard to do.

Fury and Ultrawoman dropped to the ground. Galatea glared at them, challenging them to make a move.

"You're duplicates as well!" Galatea snarled whirling to face the two woman. Taking advantage of her distraction Harrison moved suddenly and in an instant he stood next to them.

"There's been a misunderstanding, that we need to correct," Fury offered, she was calm and collected but there was a sense that she also wasn't a person that one wanted to trifle with. She used a lasso made out of razor wire to contain Galatea.

The blonde found any attempt to cage or contain her to be a threat. She sent her heat vision back at Fury.

Harry dropped down; he wondered if he should get involved. Hope stood in the shadows, waiting.

'_Thought pattern, do you have one?' _Harry asked her. She had a more natural connection to the mind arts so it would be for the best if she was the one to reach out and touch the mind of the person.

Hope frowned as she closed her eyes and attempted to push on the other side of the mind. She knew straight away that Galatea's mind was far different than most but she had to try.

'_Trying, I'm really trying,' _Hope offered in a frustrated voice as a knot tightened in her stomach.

'_Maybe I could jump in…'_

Harry shut that thought down from Kara, at least for a second.

'_We got to figure out exactly what we're dealing with,' _Harry informed her and he added without another thought. _'In the back of her mind, this girl thinks that she's the real you. So she might consider you a threat.'_

'_In fact, she might….do you think that she might go mad if she sees…'_

'_Chloe, I think there's a chance, although I don't want to think about it,' _Harry offered as he stepped back.

Harry had to figure out the best way to resolve this problem as Hope delved through the clone's mind. He placed his hands on the waist of the redhead girl and together their combined wills allowed them to comb through her mind.

Harrison stepped towards him, clearing up the broken glass as he did.

"That didn't go as planned," Harrison commented and Harry raised an eyebrow towards him but other than that, he did not say a single word.

Harry saw Ultrawoman lift up the ground and with a huge crash, she landed, the bones in her body rattled.

"Don't worry, I'll save you from him," Galatea said and Harry asked a question that he hoped that would not blow up in his face big time.

"Who are you?" Harry inquired.

Galatea stopped in an instant and she paused for a few seconds. "They….they messed with you too….I can't believe this….Har-Rell, you know who I am, don't you?"

"You could refresh my memory a tiny bit," Harry said, as he crossed his fingers. He was hoping for the best although this smelled of a plan that could backfire.

Still, in for a penny, in for a pound, and all that.

"It's me? Kara? I'm your wife, see, I'm here, it's going to be okay, you know Kara….Kara Zor-El….?" Galatea offered but something about her voice lacked the proper conviction.

She knew the things that she was saying, but the memories, the connections to them, they felt so artificial. She nearly tugged her hair out as she tried to figure out whether or not they were real.

They had to be real!

"No, I'm her! My memories are real."

Galatea closed her eyes and she felt her head about ready to split from the strain of remembering.

"The memories aren't assimilating properly…."

Harrison dodged out of the way and Harry decided that it might not be for the best to be in the blast zone when she had a meltdown.

He could have fought back, he could have defeated her in a minute, especially with the state that she was in but that would serve no purpose.

"What is happening to me?" Galatea managed as Harry's arms gently locked around her waist.

"I don't know, but we'll find out."

Kara showed up but she felt the ringing in her ears. She could barely stand up straight.

Whether Harrison liked it or not, Harry was going to take Galatea off and see that she got the treatment that she needed to survive.

She was his wife after all; he needed to make sure she was completely fine. He managed to sedate the hysteric blonde and return her to the Shining Light Foundation.

"Are you just going to…." Fury started only for Harrison to offered a stiff nod as he fixed his hair then used a charm to fix the damage done to his suit.

"Essex will learn what happened to the prototype and not make the same mistakes on the finished model," Harrison stated.

The project would have to be moved to a more secured and warded location as well. He assumed that Essex wouldn't do anything stupid but he knew that assumptions could be wrong.

* * *

"So what's the damage?"

Karen was the one who asked that question, Kara could not even get close to her duplicate. There was some scrawniness going on with the mental link that caused her head to feel like it was being split open whenever she was in five feet of her clone.

"She thinks that she's Kara, because that's what she's been told," Harry informed Karen and Karen whistled.

"That's just how he is, isn't he, using people as tools for his own gains?" Karen asked as Harry watched her. "He said something else didn't him, he spun you a story?"

"Well, he didn't actually get a chance to explain. We got interrupted before he could, but I got the impression said that it went far deeper than we realized," Harry told Karen and the blonde nodded as she pressed her back against the cool surface.

"So, he did spin you a story," Karen commented as she brushed her hands down the side of her face.

"He didn't get a chance to," Harry stated once again, he didn't really think that he was going to split too many hairs thinking about this. Harrison had plans, schemes, just like he did and he knew that each of them had an end game. Though what that could be, he had no idea. But it wouldn't really shock him if Harrison was preparing to deal with Darkseid in his own way.

Harry stared into a cracked mirror off to the side of the room, if that was not an apt metaphor for everything that he was feeling regarding his counterpart, he had no idea what was.

'_So, what's his game?'_ Harry thought to himself, it was Harrison's turn to make the next play in the mental chess game between them. Even though Har-Rell was determined to win, winning seemed less likely by each passing day.

"The good news is, I think that her memories can be rebuilt, but the shock might be a bit much," Hope told him as she studied Galatea. She sensed Sinister's handiwork all over this girl; he always left his twisted mark wherever he went.

That was why Harry was taking every precaution to protect this area of the Shining Light Foundation. Until it was sure beyond a reasonable doubt that Galatea was going be someone that he could trust, that there were no nasty surprises in her mind.

"Harry, your daughter is on the phone," Chloe told him after knocking on the door.

"It's going to have to wait," Harry commented as he placed his hands on the closest flat surface and then leaned over to peer at Galatea.

The situation with Claire was something that he was not ready to deal with. She was starting to go through that stage of teenage rebellion, talking back to him and Kara more and more. The days of her accepting pretty much everything at face value was over.

Harry did wish that children could stay young forever, especially when they were his because on top of the Darkseid thing and everything else, a family crisis was the last thing he needed.

"Tell her that I'll be home in the morning, whatever it is, we'll deal with it then," Harry said in a tense voice.

"I just hope she doesn't shoot the messenger or fry it as the case might be," Chloe offered, she had seen the tense situation that escalated between the Potters and their oldest daughter. Things wouldn't be so bad, if it was not for the Laura situation. And to be honest, Chloe could tell that her husband saw another version of Kara with all of the powers involved and with Claire, there was a part of him who saw that ten year old girl that was manipulated by Rose when her mind was screwed up thanks to the old Death.

Harry nodded.

"Don't worry, Chloe, I'll make it up to you."

Harry took a few seconds as he watched the blonde leave and moved to another blonde.

Galatea felt a breath leave her body as Harry looked at her. Her mind was a patchwork of memories that were not her own. They were not all Kara's either; one could not replicate memories from DNA at least not completely. Despite that fact Harry still saw her as his wife.

She was Kara, regardless of how she had come to be.

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her forehead, a solemn promise that he would fix what went wrong with her. He wondered if Harrison understood the full gravity of what he did.

"She's just another experiment for him," Karen informed Harry and Harry nodded stiffly as he looked at her.

"Yes, I know, but we'll fix it, we'll fix it all," Harry informed Karen, though something told him there as much more going on then a simple experiment. He took a half of a step off to the side, then left the room without another word.

There was a light glow outside of the Shining Light Foundation and Harry's ears perked up. He sensed someone arriving through the barrier of time and space.

Harry made his way outside of the barrier towards a young woman who was watching for him. She had golden blonde hair that seductively framed her face. A pair of shining blue eyes looked back at him. He saw the red jacket that she wore, along with the white top that wrapped around her DD-Cup breasts that nearly strained against the fabric of her top She shifted her body with a dazzling smile on her face. She wore a pair of red pants that tightened around her, showcasing her delicious rear and there were hints of legs that went on for miles underneath them.

The red boots added to the apparel.

"Imra, what do I owe the pleasure?" Harry asked the Legionaire also known as Saturn Girl.

Imra offered him a bright and dazzling smile. "There is a problem in the future, I need your help, Har-Rell."

"Oh do tell," Harry told the woman as she bent forward.

"Could you please come to the future, I'll explain it, I'll bring you right back not even a minute after you left," Imra said as she leaned forward, showing Harry a hint of her cleavage, which was an enticing invitation.

"Of course, anything for my favorite girl from the future," Harry told her and Imra leaned towards him to gave him a searing kiss on the lips.

"Thank you, Har-Rell, you're amazing," Imra told her as the two of the flashed off into the future.

**To Be Continued In the Next Arc. **


	18. Chapter 18: From the Legion With Love 1

**Chapter Eighteen: From the Legion With Love Part One.**

"Har-Rell, welcome to the future."

Imra offered that statement to and Harry couldn't help but be intrigued as to what the nature of the crisis that brought him here was. Despite the fact that was there was a sexy blonde before him The emerald eyed enchanter, the Herald of Death, still felt compelled to take a look at his surroundings.

Silver lights and crystal structures were the order of the day. The bright and shiny towers looking to have been inspired by those of Kryptonian design. Harry raised his eyebrow, he was impressed, especially given that the towers got the most out of the energy swirling around them.

"Well, inspiration comes from many corners, and I have to say that I've been inspired, by both sides of you, Harry," Imra told him with a smile crossing over her face and Harry opened his mouth. The blonde placed a finger on his lip to silence him. "Yes, Har-Rell, I know, but it doesn't matter."

He raised his eyebrow and there was one statement that came out of his mouth. It popped into his mind, it was simplistic, but it proved the point fairly well. "Oh."

It was hard for Imra to keep the smile that was on her face from getting wider. "I know that the world changed. I knew about it before I came from the future for first time. Which would have been two years ago from your perspective, remember?"

Kind of hard not to, considering the fact that I died," Harry told her and the young woman smiled as she watched him with interest. "Was it hard not to tell me what was going to happen?"

"There were a lot of records that were destroyed during the transition period and there seems to be a crisis occuring more times than I care to count," Imra said thoughtfully as she sat down on a bench that was off to the side and the dark haired wizard copied her movements. The bench allowing both of the young heroes to sit down and take a load off of their feet.

"But, the fact is, both of you were struggling, I could see it even then, your respective destinies were causing you both to drift in directions that could potentially lead to your downfall," Imra offered, she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing once more.

"There are a multitude of divergent timelines out there. Some resulting for an event as simple as a sneeze. I've seen some of them. I've seen what happened when you didn't merge, I've seen timelines where Harry Potter and Clark Kent never met, I've seen time lines where one or both of you were never been born. I've seen some where you were Zod's son. The multiverse has an infinite number of possibilities but for your timeline, the merger between Harry Potter and Clark Kent was quite frankly for the best.

Imra picked up a coffee cup then let it fall to the ground where it shattered, leaning down she lifted up the broken pieces and placed them back together for emphasis.

"Two halves, flawed and broken but if you put them back together carefully, you get something that's actually useful," the telepath stated to him as she leaned back. She allowed Harry's arm to slowly slide around her waist, not that she could have resisted if she wanted to, and she really didn't want to.

"It does put many things in perspective," Harry offered the heroine and she smiled back at him.

"Indeed, Harry, it does," Imra commented to him. "Some know, some do not, it's quite the time paradox, but one thing is for certain. The tests you face moving forwards will be among your biggest challenge yet."

She slid back and could not help but smile.

"I'm confident, no I think it's guaranteed that you'll do what needs to be done to win the upcoming battle," Imra offered as she placed her hand upon his bare thigh.

Harry smiled as he looked into her eyes. She was slowly drawing him in and she decided to continue with the next step.

"I gave you the ring two years ago, because I hoped that you'd take the hint that I wanted to explore our brief meeting even further," she commented, moving even closer towards him.

"Well, my mind was on other things, the Harry…."

She pressed her lips onto his, finding them with a burning, passionate kiss. She practically straddled his hips as their lips burned together with searing passion. Playfully, her hands wrapped around his shoulders as she pinned him back against the bench.

Harry closed his eyes, her lips tasted of delicious cherries, it was the sweetest taste and he continued to indulge in them, sucking and trailing his tongue over them. The two continued their intense make out session as Harry explored her curves with his hands.

Imra thought that making this play was one of the best things she could have done. As long as they were inside this chamber, no time would pass on the outside. Although she felt that something like this, given the fact that Har-Rell was in there and considering his powers, there was no point in such a thing. He could stop and stall time as he pleased and that thought, well that thought utterly excited her.

Harry was excited as well, he felt her young body, sexy and pure, she gave off an aura that indicated that she saved herself for one man and it was obvious who that man was. Imra ground her crotch across his to get some friction between their young bodies.

Tongues rubbed together, snaking together in the purest of passions. The blonde was determined to get everything that she had coming to her, her legs wrapped around Harry's waist and her nerve endings felt like they were on fire.

'_Make love to me, Har-Rell, I've been waiting for this for a long time,' _she encouraged him as she ripped his shirt off.

Her soft hands stroked his chest and then his abs. His belt became undone as Imra made her way further down explore his amazing manhood.

They were ready to join and Harry was released for her consumption.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends. **

Imra rested her head on Harry's chest, what seemed like days later, although barely a second passed in the real world.

"How was that?" Harry asked her and she looked at him with a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Fantastic," she breathed, trailing her tongue around her lips and she gave her lover one more deep kiss. "I have a few people for you to meet."

She smiled and added as she got on her hands and knees to show Harry another hint of her delicious rear. "They can't wait to meet you."

Harry could not wait to meet them if they looked anything like Imra. But that could wait, right now he was going to take advantage of her deliciously sexy ass.

* * *

"So, the male members of the Legion, have left to deal with a situation on the latter reaches of the galaxy, although they will be back in a few weeks, which leaves us girls here to hold down the fort," Imra explained to Harry as the two of them made their way back from their side trip. Her smile was bright as a shining star.

Harry returned it with equal fervor as he kept his emerald green eyes locked upon her. "I'm sure you're broken up about being here with me."

The young alien laughed and she offered Harry one more sensual kiss. She smashed her lips onto his and Harry returned it, bringing his arm around her waist, pressing her against his body. The woman was lifted off of the ground, feeling a tingle throughout her body that came with kissing such a powerful individual.

Imra moaned as he worked his hands down her body, exploring it hungrily with unrestrained lust.

"Well, you've greeted our hero, and welcomed him to the future in style."

Harry smiled as he turned around, he could have sworn that he was seeing triple, although given the girl in question, that was not a bad thing, that was a good thing, it was an extremely good thing.

The female had short brown hair that framed her angel like face. She had alluring brown eyes, with pouty lips that were the type that was easily kissable and they could do a lot of things, many things or at least that was the theory that went through his mind. She wore an extremely tight purple body suit. The top half of the suit wrapped around her body, snared around her nice breasts. They were D-Cup and extremely delicious looking. He could see her long legs and shapely ass. All three of them, they looked the same and were extremely gorgeous.

"Hello, Har-Rell," one of them stated in a flirty voice as she leaned forward and grabbed Harry around the waist.

Harry took the invitation and he pressed his lips against hers. The woman melted into his arms as he wrapped them tighter around her. She breathed heavily as Harry worked his tongue deeper into her mouth. She returned the fiery kiss with passion, using her tongue to battle with his. The two of them swapping spit with each other hungrily.

"Hey, don't hog," one of the dupes commented as she was a bit more assertive and she ripped her duplicate away from him. Only to take her place a moment later as she pushed Harry against the wall and smashed her lips onto his, giving him an amazing kiss. The woman's eyes closed as the Herald of Death kissed her back.

"Hey, it's my turn," the third of the dupes stated as she bounced up and down on the tips of her toes. Acting as if she was on a sugar high. "Please, pretty, please, I want him, I want him!"

The second duplicate ignored her as continued to indulge herself in his lips. The two of them continued to kiss each other breathless as the third moved in.

There was a brief flash as well as a hum that reminded Harry of the transporter form Star Trek and suddenly there was only one version of the girl resting in Harry's arms with a warm smile across her face.

"Har-Rell, I'm Luornu Durgo, or Triplicate Girl," she told him as she pressed against him, clutching him as her hair seductively framed her face.

"Pleased to meet you…."

"Oh is he here?"

An absolutely gorgeous girl showed up with a smile on her face. She had dark hair that framed her face that extended down past her shoulder. She had a gorgeous set of blue eyes and high cheek bones, along with rosy red lips that were puckered for Harry and he thought that he could kiss them all day long, indulging himself in the pleasures that were going to come. She had a tight white bodysuit that wrapped around her, showcasing her magnificent cleavage. Her ass was a treat as she turned around and Harry saw a nice view of her tanned and uncovered legs.

"Tinya Wazoo, it's so nice to meet you, Har-Rell," she stated but in her desire to greet him properly, she nearly tripped over her feet.

What could have ended up as a major embarrassment ended up working out pretty well for her instead as she fell into Har-Rell's arms. She closed her eyes, feeling his strong arms wrap around her as he held her up and tilted her face up so he could look into her eyes.

"Pleased to meet you, Tinya," Harry told her and she couldn't help but stare at him with an adoring gaze.

Imra gave her a subtle mental prod at that moment, not wanting to see her awkwardly bumbling around him for the rest of the day. This caused Tinya to lose some of her inhibitions. If she lost all of them, well things were going to become extremely heated in a real hurry. She smashed her lips into Harry's, locking him into a searing kiss. The two of them continued to kiss each other deeply, as they relished in the taste of the others mouth.

Tinya's mind was about to meltdown, she could not believe that she was kissing this young god and what was better he kissed her back. The sensations alone were something that nearly caused her mind to go haywire but she managed to keep it together.

"It's a pleasure, oh it's a real pleasure to meet you," she managed as she had a goofy smile plastered on her face.

"There are more girls in the Legion and I'm sure you'll meet than someday," Imra told Harry with a smile. "The reason that I brought you to the future is twofold, although I'm certain that someone of your intellect by now has guessed the first reason."

Harry offered the blonde a smile as he placed his hand on hers. She accepted the gesture without any kind of hesitation whatsoever. "I have a pretty good idea where we're going with this one, yes."

"That's good, but there is a less than pleasurable reason for you being here," Imra told him and Harry kept his eyes on her, waiting to see what she was going to say. "There is a group of criminals that are trying to affect the past and not for the better."

Tinya managed to compose herself long enough to add. "And these changes, well I'm sure they'll effect the Legion and our future."

"We've foiled them a few times, but they keep coming back," Imra commented as she closed her eyes and offered a long sigh. "But each time, they're getting more dangerous and more ambitious."

"Do you think there's someone helping him?" Luornu asked and Harry smiled at the spirited girl.

"I think it's likely," Harry offered to them and the girls prepared to listen to their hero, in some ways, their leader.

Harry was putting together a plan to get these people out in the open and deal with them.

* * *

"It's really an amazing monument," Harry concluded to Imra as she walked him through the museum where they had been able to salvage many of the trinkets that were supposedly lost to time. He whistled, there were several things there that he recalled, including a few artifacts from the Department of Mysteries.

Yet there was so much more that was lost in the annals of time.

"Yes, it is," Imra offered him, she thought very highly of the work put into the museum and given that the person that it was created for was here and able to give his feedback, she had to smile about how satisfied he was "And given that you're the one who inspired it, that means something, it means a lot that you approve of it."

"Well some say that I can be pretty inspirational," Harry offered in a teasing voice but she smiled at him, looking suddenly thoughtful.

"You know you might sound arrogant talking about yourself in that way, but in many ways, it's true" Imra commented thoughtfully as she brushed her fingers through her hair. The blonde closed her eyes with a smile on her face. The blonde opened them again after a moment and locked them onto Harry, her blue eyes meeting his green eyes. "There are many people who you've inspired with your actions and heroism."

"And I'm glad," Harry said lightly.

"There are many people out there who are under the impression that you want to be "Just Harry," Imra told him, with half of a teasing tone to her voice. The blonde leaned back and she saw a sour expression cross Harry's face who looked mortified. "And judging by that look, I don't think that I could be further from the mark."

"No you couldn't," Harry told her with a sigh. He decided to bring something up to the blonde. "You know when I said that I was just Harry."

Imra shook her head but she was interested in getting a part of history from a living legend, from his point of view.

"I was eleven years old and just been told I was a Wizard. Did I really know what I wanted then?" Harry asked her.

"No, I suppose you didn't," Imra agreed as placed her elbow against the wall as she lazily leaned against it. "A lot of people, when you think about it, their life had barely began at that age.."

She looked at the cracked "S" shield hanging on the wall, it had been destroyed by a group of people who had a real bone to pick with Har-Rell. Then again, given the fact that he tended to stop the plans of many hateful enemies, that just came with the territory.

"You are a strong male, many women would worship you without question," Imra commented and she looked up. "There are rumors that there are entire churches that worship you."

"A bit fanatical, but it's intriguing, isn't it?" Harry asked her and Imra nodded slightly at his words. The blonde placed her hands on her hips as she watched him and offered one of the wisest statements that she could potentially make.

"Sometimes fanatics make the most loyal followers," Imra told him and Harry offered her a smile.

"If that isn't the truth, I don't know what is," Harry told the blonde and she wrapped her arms around Harry's waist then snuggled into the back of his neck, pressing herself against him tightly.

"Yes, well there are some members of the Legion that are equally fanatical," the blonde commented in a saucy voice.

"Would you count yourself amongst one of those, Miss Ardeen?" Harry asked the blonde and she simply responded with a shit eating grin on her face.

"I just may be," she commented with a teasing tone to her voice then she smiled. "Are you scared of that, Mr. Potter?"

He offered a smile to her as he placed a hand on the back of her head. She shivered as he ran his fingers through her hair and then down the back of her neck.

"Positively terrified," Harry breathed as he backed the blonde telepath off. "It's a good thing that I know how to handle a naughty girl like you."

"Oh, do you?" Imra asked as she watched him and she saw the naughty delights that danced in his mind which caused her to tingle with excitement.

There were a lot of times where she wanted to experiment with different girls, in different position. The blonde's stomach fluttered with butterflies as she licked her lips. The blonde could image all of the things that Harry could do to her and others, they were things beyond her wildest imagination.

Harry closed the gap between the two of them.

"I think I might," Harry breathed to her teasingly as she felt a huge dose of his pheromones up close.

"You didn't get enough earlier, did you?"

Harry eye fucked her and he offered her a completely honest statement. "With a sexy blonde, there's no such thing as getting enough."

"Why just a blonde?"

"You didn't let me finish," Harry commented as he kissed her on the lips and Imra nibbled on them in response, encouraging his naughtiness.

Tinya showed up and nearly went through the ground as she got a full blast of the pheromones that were released by their bodies. The dark haired girl closed her eyes and staggered as she tried to keep her head above the water.

"Hey, Tinya, want to join us?" Harry asked with a grin.

Her eyes widened like a deer in the headlights.

"Um, later, maybe," she breathed out slowly, then took a deep breath in as she felt the thought of both of them going at with her along for the ride would be extremely enticing.

She shook her head and tried to focus her mind on the matter at hand. Was it hard? Yes it was really fucking hard and she had to close her eyes to focus.

"Is there a reason why you're here?" Imra inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, there's another particle trail, our thieves are back," Tinya told them as her eyes widened with horror and Harry and Imra locked eyes, things getting serious.

"It looks like they swallowed the bait," Harry commented and she slowly nodded.

"Yes, it looks like it does," Imra agreed as they scrambled towards the mission.

They hoped that things would work out for the best.

* * *

Arcane lead the group, all three of them, three of the main female members of the Legion of Super Heroes but there was a sense that this was not going to be any easy pickings. These tech aided thieves, they would be equipped well. It might have sounded like a dumb hunch but it was the best hunch they had.

'_Does this look like a trap to anyone else?' Tinya asked, causing the two other girls and Harry to look at her with a raised eyebrows. 'Yeah sorry but….'_

'_Well we're the ones who are trapping them and nice vice versa,' _Harry thought to the girls as he carefully lead the trio into position.

The group of thieves, well they were rather high tech, even by future standards. Harry spied the group of thieves as they tried to crack open a vault.

'_So what are they…' _Imra thought but Harry held his head up in the air. The blonde looked at him as they saw the glowing object that they had in their hands. It was silvery and sharp with many jagged edges.

Harry kept his eyes locked on the device, which gave off an even brighter glow. At least it wasn't humming. Yet. He stepped closer to it and the group walked next to him.

'_And that's not good,' _Imra thought as she eyed it, recognizing the object at once.

That device on its own could pack an explosive punch that could level armies and the fact that they were using it to blow open a door, proved how desperate they were to get their hands on whatever was on the inside.

'_Just sneak up on them, easy does it,' _Imra thought as she looked around, biting nervously down upon her lip._ 'Unless there's more of them hiding around here.'_

Harry scanned the room to make sure there were no thugs concealed because he thought that they might have cloaking technology with them. Thankfully, there was no one concealed in the shadows, at least no one that he was able to see with his X-Ray Vision. He mentally prepared himself for the fight to come.

'_On the count of three, we jump in, and take care of them,' _Harry thought to the girls and they all nodded, ready to go.

Tinya stepped between the fence posts to the side and became intangible. The dark haired woman closed her eyes but she was caught in a trap. Her face was frozen in horror as she was stunned.

Harry could not wait around, he had to make his move and he had to make his move now. He lifted a fist up into the air and smashed his enemy in the face. A glancing blow nailed his enemy in the back of the head. His punch sent his enemy flying backwards, where he landed hard against the fence.

The enemy collapsed around him like bowling pins that had been hit with a perfect strike, hitting the ground one punch at a time. An adversary moved towards Harry and as he was closing the distance he fired a bright light towards the emerald eyed Sorcerer. He arched his back to avoid it and then disarmed him with one shot.

He was not sure what those laser arrays they were firing at him were meant to do exactly. All he knew that it might not be a good idea to get hit by them. He grabbed an enemy by the arm and twisted it, popping his shoulder out of the socket. He levitated two of the guns into the air and then with another bang banished them backwards.

The enemies dropped down to the ground and he saw their eyes widen with the telltale signs of recognition.

Harry offered a slight smile, tiny as it might be, they knew who he was, which meant things were about to pick up and it could turn into a real slobber knocker. He raised his hands and clapped.

Triplicate Girl dodged the lasers flying at her, nearly getting sliced to ribbons, and she closed her eyes.

"YEAH!" she yelled as one of her dupes got behind one of the thugs and she school yard tripped him. The third dupe was on top of him, curb stomping the enemy into the ground. His face cracked with a sickening crunch as blood spurted all over the place.

'_Keep it up girls, these thugs, they won't get out of here,' _Harry thought as he used his ice breath to take down the ring leader. He ended up being frozen stiff, although his armor protected him from suffering severe hypothermia.

He thought that he looked like the brains of the operation, which really was saying something. Using his heat vision he freed his head from the ice.

"Okay, you'll find that I'm a reasonable person, providing you don't dick me around with half-truths and evade my questions," Harry said as he looked over the high-tech thug.

"Soon! you'll be taken care of! You won't be a symbol for anyone!" the man stated as he tried to free himself from the ice but the only thing he found himself able to was shiver.

He sensed a dark and familiar presence as he pushed into the thug's mind.

'_And things have gotten a bit more dangerous now,' _Harry thought as he got the full scope of what exactly was going on.

Imra caught onto Harry's thoughts as the blonde turned her head around towards him. She watched him with a raised eyebrow. _'Surely your not alluding to who I think you're alluding to, are you?'_

Tinya grew serious, all mirth having left the girls face as she closed her eyes. _'He's only been named in legends, we've never directly fought him, there's no way it can be him.'_

'_Which means I may have put you in mortal danger by bringing you into the future,' _Imra thought as she felt her stomach clench as her nerves were shot. _'He knew that we would bring you here and he would have minions here, waiting for you.'_

'_Don't worry, I'm a lot tougher than I look,' _Harry thought to the blonde telepath and the members of the Legion of Super Heroes all nodded.

They should not be worried, they had faith, even though they had to prepare for the worst. It was important to err on the side of caution after everything they heard against Darkseid. Har-Rell would need to return to the past eventually to defeat him and bring peace to that time. Exactly how, was to the passing of time, the only hint left was that it was an amazing battle that the few who were fortunate enough to witness it were amazed by.

'_Could you please help me secure these ones?' _Imra asked with a frown and Harry jumped on it immediately, securing the group. _'And we'll figure out what we need to do next.'_

Harry was on it immediately, for better or for worse.

* * *

"So now we know the game, what it is, for better or for worse," Imra sighed as she prepared for the next move.

Harry offered a pained grimace that continued to spread over his face. This was nothing like he expected and what he expected was a nice lighthearted trip into the future. So this was more or less nothing like he expected.

The situation was rather dangerous but there was one thought that ran through his mind. As he gave himself a mental pep talk. He was still standing and as long as he was still standing, he was still fighting. He refused to allow himself to lose hope.

"I'd send you back to the past if I could but until this threat…."

Harry cut Imra off and he grabbed her hands with a smile on his face.

"I understand, once he has me here, he's not going to let me go that easily, sending me back might be more dangerous at this juncture than keeping me here," Harry offered to them all and Imra nodded, as Harry's arm wrapped around her waist. The blonde closed her eyes as there was a sense that there was some reason why Darkseid brought him here.

He had to follow that thread to it's logical conclusion and he find out what exactly was going on.

"You're not too worried about this, at all, are you?" Imra asked him and there was a long moment where Harry did not say anything. All and all it was quite unsettling to hear him not say anything. "Harry?"

"You know, as well as anyone else, I don't do worried well at all," Harry informed her and despite that, Imra had a smile across her face. She pushed herself closer to Harry, his arm wrapped tightly around her in a snug motion.

"Yes, I know you don't do worried but I'm sure you've considered that…..well we would not be having this conversation right now if you failed and got destroyed," Imra commented as the two of them watched the sun. It was a bit eerie in this time but never the less, it had that certain beauty and charm. "You're not worried at all?"

"I believe we've established that I do not do worried."

Imra thought that she had to keep things calm although she was becoming worried herself. She honestly tried not but she found that unintentional worry was often.

"Yes, that's long since been established," she offered as she gave him a pensive gaze.

The real question was what was inside that vault? Imra was of two minds regarding what happened.

The first mind was that it was a diversion but there was something that kept swimming in the back of her head. The second one was that there was an item in that vault; an artifact that Darkseid thought that he might be able to use to defeat Har-Rell. That thought was not a promising one. So far, still here, and still standing. Otherwise she would not be here having such thoughts, she mused. The blonde brushed her hair out of her face and her heart beat a little bit heavier within her chest.

"Calm down, it's going to be alright," Harry muttered in a low voice as he ran his fingers through her hair.

Imra smiled in spite of herself. "You keep saying that darling, but I keep worrying that something is going to break, something that I can't just push out of my mind."

Harry knew that none of the Legion members had been tainted or tempted by the darkness. That was a good thing, although it would take an act of god to ensnare any of their minds.

He also knew that a desperate Darkseid was not a Darkseid that he wanted to have to deal with. Green eyes burned with even stronger determination. He bit down on his lip looking worried.

'_Worry, remember, you don't do it well,' _Imra told him.

'_So, I keep reminding myself,' _Harry commented with a swift quip.

Despite the fact that he kept reminding himself, those thoughts kept swimming through his mind. He had a feeling that he missed something, something that was extremely vital when he went up against those tech thieves. It was bugging the ever living shit out of him that he could not figure out why.

Har-Rell hated when there were a few things that he missed. It was almost like there was some damning clue that was taunting, dancing in front of his face.

What was it?

That was the question and right now, he did not know it.

Harry could agree with one thing and that no matter what, he would find out before too long. Frustration struck him as he prepared for the next round.

It was do or die time for Harry Potter.

"We have another situation, the vault that we were guarding, it's gone."

**To Be Continued in Part Two.**


	19. Chapter 19: Legion Part Two

**Chapter Nineteen: From the Legion With Love Part Two.**

Peaceful, beautiful, serene, those were adjectives that perfectly described the type of night that they were having. The stars twinkled bright and it was one of those nights where everyone was happy to be alive. It was a night to kick back, relax, and forget about everything.

It was that type of night where Harry was at his wits edge after what he learned. Returning him to the past, even if he wanted to leave, would be something that could mess up the time space continuum. Darkseid played an extremely dangerous game and this was proven through his latest gambit. That game lead Harry standing there, with his hands in his pocket and waiting for what the master of all darkness would attempt next.

Harry made the last move, stopping them from taking whatever was inside the Vault. According to the records in the Legion, no one had been able to even get inside that Vault. Whether that was a good or a bad thing, a person's mileage might vary on that. However, the fact of the matter was that no one had been able to crack the cookie jar open and get inside. Given that Darkseid wanted it so badly, it had to be something dangerous and Harry felt his heart skip a half of a beat at the thought.

'_Keep it cool, Potter,' _Harry thought to himself as he focused himself.

The young wizard rocked himself back on his heels, even though he did not need to. He steadied himself quickly and tried to look like too much of a hyperactive spaz on a sugar high. He did place on hand underneath his chin, adopting the Thinker Pose, as he sat cross legged in the window sill.

There was an entire world built in the future, well technically built on the combined efforts of Harry Potter and Clark Kent, as their flaws were ironed out. Those two technically no longer existed as he had reminded himself, there was Har-Rell and Har-Rell alone.

"Sorry, I didn't know that you were awaked."

The dark haired girl poked her head in quickly and Harry turned his full attention towards her. She slumped her shoulders slightly nervously.

"I'm not disturbing you, am I?"

Harry shook his head as he gave her an encouraging smile. "No, Tinya, you're not disturbing me at all, come in, come in."

The girl, looking pretty pleased with this, scrambled towards him. She almost tripped over her feet but she recovered extremely quickly.

"It's quiet up here, nice to think, which is why you're up here, isn't it?" Tinya asked as Harry moved to make a space for her to sit down. "I'm not…."

"No, you're not," Harry repeated in a firm voice as he got a look at the young girl in front of him. She was in casual attire now, a tight white t-shirt that showed off the assets that she had to offer. It was obviously a shirt from when she was a bit younger, Harry could tell the age of it from the nice faded quality. Not that was a bad thing necessary given how tightly that it strained against her breasts; it just was what it was. Her jean shorts she wore wrapped snugly around her legs, frayed in several places. She was not wearing a pair of shoes, she was subconsciously wiggling her toes as she leaned towards him.

"Oh these clothes," Tinya commented as she saw Har-Rell admiring them. She offered a warm smile as she lazily leaned against the side of the window. "This style, they don't make them any more. They were really popular around the 21st century or so, you know the time that you were at the height of….well technically for you, it's the now, isn't it?"

"Yes," Harry commented lightly as he saw her swallow nervously.

'_Dig your own grave, Wazzoo,' _she thought to herself but then she recalled that he could read minds. Whether or not he was doing it now, well a gentleman was never going to tell and that's what Har-Rell was through and through, he was a gentleman, well in a matter of speaking.

And if he was, she was not imagining him naked.

Well, now she was because she just thought about it.

Tinya really hoped that Har-Rell was unable to read minds or was not reading hers currently. Her lips curled into a smile and she tried to keep her head up, even though embarrassment could have went through her mind at this present point in mind. She sighed as she tried to rid herself of the naughty mental images.

If he was looking into her thoughts, he did not say anything.

"Well, yeah, but the point is that this fashion wasn't….well it wasn't something that is that popular past about 2257, but then again there's a lot about fashion that tends to come and go, with fads and all that stuff," Tinya commented, she seemed excited although she was not about to become too excited. She did not want to embarrass herself. "Oh, and I thought that you might want to know that Imra is trying her best to figure out what is in that vault that Darkseid wants so badly."

Harry placed a hand on his chin and thought even more intently.

Tinya watched him with wide eyes; this was a real living legend. Imra met him before and she wanted to scream that she did not get a chance to travel into the future to meet him. Now that Har-Rell sat before her, well the prospects of being in his company for any point in time, it was really overwhelming.

"Do you….well do you know about what's in there?" Tinya asked and Harry gave her a frown.

"I'm afraid I don't have a clue," Harry told her.

As he admitted to himself, if he had a clue, he could prepare to defend himself against whatever was in there. Now, he was running around in the dark.

"So, tell me about yourself?" Harry asked, smiling.

Tinya was surprised being asked about herself from someone who she admired.

"Well, I joined the Legion…kind of as a joke, but I guess I did okay for myself," Tinya commented as she caught her breath and smiled as she took that trip down memory lane.

"More than okay, I've seen the files, you've done well, improved by leaps and bounds," Harry told her and Tinya shifted with a smile, she seemed really pleased by the praise that was heaped onto her by Har-Rell of all people.

"Great, yes, that's great," Tinya managed as she practically stammered but she kept her voice calm and only a trained ear would see how nervous she felt.

"Yes, it's more than great, it's fantastic," Harry told her, as he slowly and discreetly rested a hand on her bare knee.

Tinya thought that this was a friendly gesture, at least she assumed. However, it was causing her hormones to escalate to a new heightened level.

"I know you've done a lot of great things and will continue to do even more great things," Harry commented as he leaned a bit closer to her, his breath hitting his ear.

"Well my mother, she's the president of the Galactic Council, so she's got a full day," Tinya commented.

"Well, you have a lot to live up to but then again so did I," Harry told the woman with a smile. "Just be yourself and everything will turn out for the best."

"Thanks,' Tinya commented with a wide smile that got even wider as Harry was about to close the gap between them further.

"And I'm sure you're a valued member of this team, at least I value your contributions," Harry whispered hotly in her ear.

Anything that was going to happen, well it was going to have to wait until later, for that was when Imra entered the room. Tinya and Harry pulled apart for now, they saw how serious she was.

"We have a lead, they're making another play for the vault and another Critical area as well…..something that was developed by one of your enemies, he never got it working, but they might have the capabilities to do so," Imra said without so much as taking a breath.

Harry knew that with these two targets, one of them was the real one, but the real question was, which one was?

* * *

Harry was getting one of those foreboding senses of Deja-Vu. The real problem was that he could not determine how he felt it, just that he felt it. The emerald eyed sorcerer took a half of a step forward as he kept walking, with his green eyes flashing, followed by the three female members of the Legion of Super Heroes who walked behind him.

It was quiet.

It was almost too quiet.

Thinking or speaking that statement for any reason whatsoever, that never proved to be good at all. Harry felt like they were walking into something crazy, exactly how insane that was, well he could not even begin to guess. All he knew was that he was stepping into the mouth of the lion.

There was no need to tell the girls to stay sharp, that went without saying. He sensed the presence of darkness, the same one that he ran across countless times back in the past. Harry's eyes locked forward as he took half of a step forward.

So far, there was nothing which rang fairly false.

There had to be something, if he was going to be honest with himself. The lack of anything was starting to unnerve him so very much. The wizard stood steady as he heard the pitter patter of footsteps.

Sure enough the gang was back, and they had a few new toys. Harry knew it, the Legion knew it, a small cynical part of this gang knew it as well deep down.

They were mere pawns for the darkness, they were pawns for Darkseid. They would be used up and spat out when the time was right. When that force was sick of them or if he got what he wanted, then it was going to be all over.

What did he want?

Harry tried to study their movements and form a battle plan.

He recognized the artifact.

The Hand of Death, he recalled it. In the past, in the highest security possible, the three keys for the object in the crypt were hidden. Harry knew that the Hand of Death had great power, but he most wield said great power with great responsibility. Or so he assumed.

It was a tempting artifact that had destroyed Heralds of Death in the past.

He nearly forgot about it until now.

'_Hand of Death,' _Harry thought to Imra and the blonde telepath jumped up as her heart sped up.

'_You're joking,' _she thought to him.

'_Rarely about such a serious manner,' _Harry fired back and she nodded.

'_So on a scale of one to Armageddon, what are we dealing with?' _Tinya asked as her glance moved from Harry to the situation around them.

'_The Hand of Death is essentially the greatest force in the world, it trumps my powers ,and it would be handing Darkseid some kind of Anti-Life Equation where he could rewrite all of reality,' _Harry thought.

He remembered how the gravestone reacted to non-Heralds, but Darkseid was no mere mortal. He knew that Darkseid must have failed to grab onto the artifact in the past and that increased his thirst for it.

Harry felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he came to one horrific conclusion. If Darkseid was here, he must have never been defeated.

Despite Harry's best efforts, he would be back.

He shook his head and reminded himself of one thing, that gave him a swelling of hope.

The future was never set in stone. Harry refused to believe of such a thing like destiny, he would defeat Darkseid in the past, present, or future.

He saw Saturn Girl, Triplicate Girl, and Phantom Girl, the fact that they were still here may have proved that he had not failed yet. However, it would be foolish to be arrogant and think that the future could not be altered because he had been lured here.

The loud banging sounds put him on edge.

The end might be near.

No that much Harry refused to act on these thoughts; they were thoughts that were intended to stir up certain paranoid notions in his mind. He saw that if he acted on them, he would succumb to his greatest flaw.

His ability to get paranoid, that was something that he inherited from the Harry Potter half of the equation. He planned for the worst so often and so long that there were instances where he almost outsmarted himself in obsessive planning. It was crazy, it had to be crazy, but it was really true. The truth penetrated his mind.

'_Okay, easy does it,' _Harry thought as he was able to make his move.

Heat vision melted the ground out from underneath his enemies and left them in a sticky situation. He watched their progress as they tried to lift their feet up off of the ground out of the goop that had been created. Much to their dismay, they had been unable to wretch themselves free.

Striking whilst the irony was hot, Harry hurled a few grenades over his hand. He watched their progress as they smashed down onto the ground.

There was a loud explosion as the grenades released a charge that was akin to Hogwarts, where every electronic in the field was shut down.

The Legion swooped in.

Saturn Girl used an invisible field to knock out what appeared to be the leader of the group. There was a loud crunch as he flew onto his back. More than a few bones were shattered as she kicked him straight in the face and sent him flying backwards.

Another had tried to pull out an item from his pocket, a high tech blasting weapon that could cut through anything. Phantom Girl saw it and smacked the weapon from the hand of her enemy. There was a crack and a crunch as said weapon dropped down onto the ground.

Triplicate Girl moved in, closing her eyes and she surrounded her enemies in a set of three.

The man lost his head at the prospect of fighting three skilled fighters like this. He tried to take a step forward but the battle was lost when she took him down with a swift and solid motion. There was a solid crunch as enemies hit the ground hard with a sickening thud.

Harry smiled, mission was almost accomplished, although not quite.

The Legion Girls looked around but Harry heard the tick-tock of a countdown timer.

Not all of the technology had been taken out, with an explosive device that was detonated beneath their feet.

Thankfully no one was hurt, that was the good news, that was always good news.

The bad news was that the tech thieves slipped off like they always did. They moved off into the night, as now there was a hissing and a rattling of a device.

"I know that device," Saturn Girl breathed as she eyed it, unable to believe that it was true, or maybe wishing it was not. She pushed it into her hand. "That device….it's set to disrupt the plates, causing fire pits."

"Leaving to something more fitting than Darkseid's hellish world," Harry said to them.

The blonde smiled, even though that smile was fixed. "Right, we should be able…."

"He's going after Death's Hand still, he thinks that if he break everything open, he'll get it," Harry told them and Imra frowned as her arms folded over her chest.

There was one statement of that smelled of determination that flowed from her mouth.

"Not on my watch," she said firmly.

They went to disrupt the device but Harry, he had to go after the tech thieves. He would force that final confrontation and maybe even figure out why Darkseid survived.

There was this nagging voice in the back of his head to leave the future alone but he had to know. The Legion was here, so he had to have survived.

Right?

* * *

Harry heard the sounds around him and few of them seemed like tormented, tortured screams while other sounds resembled marcher. He was careful, he was calm, he was getting closer to something, although what that that something was, he would find out in a matter of moments. He knew that the girls would deactivate that device and everything would be smooth sailing.

He felt himself grow increasingly rigid as he felt shivers go down his spine.

Harry paused before he took another step. He could sense that he was stepping into the danger zone. His ears buzzed as he tried to figure out the best way to negate any traps that were going appear around him. The eyes of this young Herald of Death burned bright as he made his way forward.

'_Ready or not,' _Harry thought as he stepped towards the tech thieves, who obviously saw him, which was his intention.

Laser blasts welcomed him, of course laser blasts welcomed him. As it turned out, Harry was pretty much ready for anything that was fired at him. He placed his hands up and a shield appeared around him. Said shield blocked the barrage of laser fire.

His knees felt like jelly but Harry held a steady stance. His mind was going wild at the thought of what would happen.

"Capture him."

Harry smiled, that was easier said than done.

He pursed his lips and super breath blew the attackers out of the way. His hands reached into his coat and several grenades flew up into the air.

A spike went into his back.

There was a pained grimace as Harry dropped down to the ground, blood pouring from his back.

At least until he crumbled to dust, showing that he was not the real deal but he was a carefully constructed duplicate to lure them into a false sense of security. The dupes were far less durable than him.

Harry had went around the base invisible, disabling everything and sent a dupe in.

Speaking of dupes, the tech gang realized that was what happened to them. Their eyes flushed with rage as they tried to charge at Harry.

Harry avoided their attacks attempts to knock him out with a headbutt on either side and the tech gang members clanged together, their heads bonking together.

Harry tried to find the common thread, and he saw the crate. It was the weapon that was created to destroy him or at least that was the assumption. Until he got a closer look at what it was, Harry was not going to say anything one way or another.

The man pulled out a large glove, put it on, and lifted it over his head.

The thug's strength was amplified a hundred fold and Harry felt a super powered fist slam into him. He had to admit that hurt but he must not lose his head. It was all about fighting harder and not smarter.

He put up a shield to block the second punch.

Said shield reflected the attack and bounced the attack back at said adversary. It was an attack that was a hundred times the normal strength of the enemy, so being reflected back at a normal guy, that was going to cause some pain, blues, and agony for him.

He dropped down onto the ground, causing the agony. The young man collapsed down onto the ground.

Energy blades flew out and Harry smiled, turning his hand around and motioning them to bring it.

They lost their nerve at the flickering of immense expression going through their heads. The pair of knives went flung towards him.

Harry jumped up out of the way and then landed down next to his enemy. There was a huge sonic explosion as he left a crater in the ground. They were threw high into the air and flew several hundred feet back.

The enemies staggered, trying to get back up to their feet but Harry was now one step ahead of him, several steps if he could manage it quite frankly. He took their legs out from underneath them and the sound of breaking bones could be heard.

A large man in a battle suit appeared. It was purple and green, looking like something that some comic book villain might want wear if he wanted to be absurd. Never the less, it looked quite formidable, well in certain ways. As Harry saw, looks were not everything and this person, they went for quantity over quality.

"You will perish!"

Harry smiled as he gazed at the person in the suit. That was before he blasted a golden energy wave and knocking the man in the suit down. He fell head over heels and crashed down onto the ground.

His hand brushed against the stone slab, he was now right in front of the crypt but why was the crypt here? He could have sworn that it had not been moved at all. His fingers twitched around the side of the crypt and he heard it calling to him, to release the Hand of Death from the marble.

Harry had his hands fixated on it and for a moment, he was tempted to grab onto it and to unleash it somehow.

'_You will be powerful beyond all measure,' _the voice whispered to him in a tempting tone.

Harry snapped out of the thought, sure he would be powerful beyond all measure, but what cost?

He slammed through the battle suit, taking down his enemy. There was a thunderous explosion where he dropped his foe to the ground.

The wearer of the battle suit twitched in pain as he was unable to get what might have been a standing position. His spine ached from the trauma of the suit and his ears rang as he tried to get up.

"Game over," Harry whispered as he slammed him down onto the ground, smashing him down with a thud.

Darkseid could or at least his influence, was seen in the corner of his eye.

"One day, one day…."

"It will not be today however," Harry commented.

It was merely a shade, an echo, nothing compared to the real deal and Harry knew that he would have to fight the real deal eventually.

Something clicked to him.

The Hand of Death might not just destroy him but it would purge the darkness. The young wizard grabbed his hands together as he came to that conclusion.

It was a temptation; it was one that he could slip into very easily if he was not careful. If he was not careful, he could lead to his own destruction.

All because of an attempt to beat an extremely hated enemy but Harry saw a lot of things flash before his very eyes. His green eyes flooded with determination as he looked at the crypt.

Or would have looked at the crypt, had it not just vanished.

'_Okay, now this is officially weird, not that it wasn't weird before, but it's even weirder now,' _Harry thought to himself as he wondered about the crypt. He did not freak out easy but at the same time, he had to figure out what was on the line as he took another half of a step forward.

Temptation visited even the best of people and the worst of them, as Harry reminded himself.

Harry had walked that fine line and that tightrope; he was precious inches from falling straight into an abyss.

"We got them, I think we do," Saturn Girl commented as she turned back up.

"So my plan worked," Harry offered but there was a sense of disconnect in his voice.

His mind was distracted on other matters.

* * *

Harry was intrigued by a mystery as much as the next person but the composition of this power core had him baffled to say the very least.

He saw the glowing of the core in his hand and wondered….actually there were a few things that he was wondering. There was a multitude of thoughts that burned through the back of his mind. None of them would be considered good and all of them…..well all of them raised more questions then they did any answers.

"I would say it's alien but that's a classification of a lot of technology," Harry commented to Imra who nodded as she sat down next to him.

"I've never seen anything like that ever," she commented as she looked over the piece of technology, flipping it over between her fingers. The blonde frowned as she bit down upon her lip and tried to piece it together.

And she had seen a lot of weird technology during her days, there was no lying about it. The blonde knew that there were going to be criminals who brought out the big guns. Every time she went into battle, her life was going to be on the line but that was just part of the job.

The blonde held the energy core in her hand, she was missing something but what was she missing? That was the question to end all questions. She held the glowing disc in her hand and felt like there was a bomb that was about ready to go off in her hand. One more wrong movement and she would send them all on a one way trip to the afterlife. She saw Har-Rell look from her to the disc.

"The crypt, that's what I'm really concerned about," Harry offered.

Providing that it really was the crypt, if it was not some kind of trap from Darkseid. He held the keys for over a year but he had never decided to take them down to the crypt to see what the Hand of Death was. He wondered why the crypt was trying to tempt him at this point and not before.

Surely there was no force on this planet who was going to be able to open up the crypt. Not even the Herald of Death, they weren't going to crack the crypt, no way, no how about it.

Harry sighed, he ran his fingers across the core once again.

That battle suit, that wasn't the weapon, this core was. It glowed maliciously and it was almost like there were thousands of tiny heart beats entombed within it, powering the core. Lives that had been lost, snuffed out and trapped within this core. That was the thing that vexed him the most.

"I'll make sure this is kept within the highest security, no one will be able to get it," Imra stated.

Harry smiled at the blonde as she packed in the case.

"Thank you, Imra, I appreciate it," Harry offered and she leaned forward towards him, stealing a kiss from him.

"No problem," she said as the blonde walked out, her ass swaying enticingly as she left the room.

She took her time as she left and Harry really did appreciate the view. The emerald eyes of the wizard watched the girl leave and he leaned back with a smile as he decided to look over the notes of the mission today.

It was good to take inventory of everything that he knew today. He wondered if the Darkseid thing was over in the future. Most of the tech thieves had been rounded up. In fact, the ones that they captured had been pretty much been reduced to soulless shells.

The wizard thought about it, when one got down to it, Darkseid really did not treat the people that he used as his minions that well. They were expendable.

Then again, given that he was the ultimate level of evil, why would he treat anyone that well? Harry shook his head as he thought about that. He mentally plotted what his next move would be.

He heard footsteps.

"Hi, Tinya, come in."

The dark haired girl waited outside. She was dressed in a transparent white dressing gown that allowed Harry to see everything that she had to offer. She stepped over, as he saw the gown ride up to expose more of her youthful flesh.

She figured that she had nothing left to lose. If there was going to be an opportunity, it was now going to be the time to seize it. The dark haired girl took another couple of steps and locked eyes upon Harry.

"Sit down, make yourself at home," Harry commented.

She was not going to be bold enough to sit down right on top of him but she did manage the seat right beside him. She looked at Harry, a smile crossing her face. There was a bit of nervous intentions dancing through her eyes, but she closed her eyes.

"So….I overheard you and Imra the other night…."

"You're going to have to be more specific," Harry commented. He had sex with the blonde telepath several times.

"Well the two of you are sleeping with each other and I want a piece of the action," Tinya commented in a bold tone of voice as she placed her hands on his knees.

"Oh, do you?" Harry asked as he grabbed her and pushed her back.

She decided that there was no or never, with Harry pushing his lips onto Tinya. The two of them kissed each other madly, with Harry pushing her back onto the bench that they sat on.

The dark haired girl nearly melted in his embrace that was something that she imagined for some time but never thought would happen. The dark haired girl felt his lips work over hers and he poked her tongue into her mouth. She captured it, snaking her tongue around him and working him into the kiss. Both of them continued to swap spit.

Harry ran his hands down her nice and sensual body. The dark haired woman was writhing underneath him and Harry drummed his fingers down her legs, running them over the nubile young flesh.

He always found it a lot better to focus when he had sex. He pushed his lips all the way down her neck and she closed her eyes, with Harry running his hands down her breasts and thighs, as he relieved her of the robe completely.

She felt a shiver and the shivers that went down her body indicated the fun was only about to begin.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends.**

Harry was not going to lie, he thought that tonight was going to be a productive night and for some reason, after what happened, he knew that he was going to have a clearer head now than ever before

The proof was before him, with the sexy young blonde draped over one side, and the dark haired girl draped over his other side. Imra and Tinya had smiles across their faces, with Harry having them wrapping his arms around them both.

The two of them went to sleep, as did Harry. He knew that they would be nearby if the three of them needed to indulge into each other yet. Again.

**To Be Continued. **


	20. Chapter 20: Legion Part Three

**Chapter Twenty: From the Legion with Love Part Three. **

Harry liked a good challenge as much as the next person, in fact he liked a good challenge even more than the next person but there was a fine line between a good challenge and something that utterly confused him. The wizard's eyes fixated on the item that was in front of him, the glowing object, the mystery object, this power core, whatever one wanted to call it. Regardless of what it was, it was in front of him. As a result the wizard's attention was completely fixated upon it.

To the outside world, to a casual observer, this item that he had underneath his fingers was a standard run of the mill power core. However, Harry had learned by now that things were not always what they seemed, though sometimes a cigar was just a cigar. The emerald eyes of the wizard continued to watch it with narrowed eyes, as if some sudden realization would hit him and hit him hard. Then he might be able to figure out what it was and it's purpose.

So far, nothing which was worse than anything else that Harry could come up with in his mind. The power core that was in his hand, it continued to hum and rattle in his fingertips, as if he thought that it would turn over.

'_I can't help but I think that I overlooked something, the question is what, what did I overlook?' _Harry thought to himself as he kept running the power core between his fingers in a casual and delicate manner. The wizard tapped the item a couple of times on the table and once again he gazed upon it with intent and focus.

"I swear, you might just burn a hole through that thing if you keep looking at it like that. Which you can actually do with your powers now that I think about it."

Luornu showed up, taking a couple of steps towards Harry, a smile across the dark haired girls face as she closed the distance between them.

"Hey, Luornu, what can I do for you?" Harry asked the brunette and the smile widened across the young woman's face.

"Well, actually, there are a few things that I was hoping I could do for you," Luornu said as she placed her hands on his thigh, then another dupe appeared behind him and started to rub his shoulders. The third one curled up in his lap with a lustful gaze in her eyes. "But, sadly, business before pleasure."

"That's the problem, isn't it?" Harry asked her and she smiled.

"Unfortunately," Luornu agreed with the young wizard, shifting in his lap so that she was straddling him, she leaned backwards while placing her palms on his chest to balance herself. She was wanting to relax for a little bit but much to her displeasure, she could not relax in the way that she wanted to. Which was having Har-Rell pin her down in a variety of different ways, that would really help her relax. "But, these tech thieves and who they work for…."

"I'd like to think that yesterday was the end of it, but I know better," Harry told the duplicating damsel and she offered him a sad smile at those words.

"We hope to see that the end to our problems is here, but many times it rarely is," Luornu offered as she leaned forwards to press her front against Harry's chest as one of her dupes rubbed his shoulder. The other placed a hand playfully on his thigh and teasingly slid it upwards. "Darkseid….he's plagued us throughout history…."

"That's not good news for me," Harry concluded.

"Well, you did defeat him a few times, although the problem with Darkseid, as many scholars have described it is that..." Imra offered as she turned up and joined the two or four, if she wanted to get technical about it. "...Darkseid is the personification of all things that is evil. For good to exist, evil must exist as well. For evil to exist, good must exist. If one does not exist, then the other loses meaning and purpose."

Tinya, who'd arrived alongside Imra, whistled at those words. "Wow, that's pretty deep."

Imra shook her head at her teammate. "Deep as it is, it's also true."

The blonde leaned up against his chair as she looked at the core. She figured that it would be prudent to tell Har-Rell what she learned regarding the situation. "Well, I've cross referenced the core with every known peace of technology in our databases."

"And anything?" Harry asked the blonde, hoping, perhaps grasping at straws that there was something tangible that he could learn. He hated being left in the dark.

Imra shook her head in sadness. "Not a thing, I'm sorry. I really wish that we could figure out something, why Darkseid wanted this, and why it could hurt you."

There was a few seconds pause where Harry tapped his fingers on the edge of the core, the wizard's eyes carefully scanned it and flipped it over. The core flipped over several times within his hand as he studied every last nook and cranny of it.

There was some thread that he was missing, something that he could not grab onto. The wizard's smile widened as he thought about it.

"You're thinking intently, aren't you?" Imra leaned in to whisper to him as Harry was trying to mull over what this object was in his mind.

"Does it matter?" Harry asked the blonde causing her eyes to widen. "The fact of the matter is we've got something tangible, at least something that we can use."

"Yes, that's true," Imra agreed with a smile as she wondered if this was going to be the break that they were looking for. The blonde's sense of optimism spiked through the roof as they were getting closer to solving this mystery.

"So did we…."

"We'll know in a minute," Harry offered, as they were waiting for something to break, they were waiting for that moment of calm that existed before the hurricane of disaster. The wizard placed his hand on the device and it did not react to him, either positively or negatively, which once again put more questions in his mind than it did answers.

Harry held it to his chest.

'_It's unsettling,' _Imra thought to him nervously and Harry wrapped his arm around her, pulling the blonde woman in close to him.

'_I think I know what it is,' _Harry thought to her, he knew it was unsettling but he knew what he had to do.

The wizard felt something in the air and his instincts were backed up by technology as blaring sirens echoed around him. The three female members of the Legion stood up, and they realized one thing.

Their friends were back for round three and Harry hoped that the third time that they went against them would be the charm.

"Let's go," Imra stated in a firm voice and the girls all nodded as they prepared to follow Harry and Imra out of the backdoor.

They made sure that the device was as secure as possible because Harry thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

* * *

"POWER….THE PERSONIFICATION OF IT….WILL BE YOUR GUIDE!"

Harry heard those words as soon as he landed on the ground. He shook his head; there was something about them that caused shivers to go down his spine but he could not figure out what. The wizard's eyes looked up into the air and he heard the voice echo around him.

'_He's closer than he ever should be,' _Imra thought to Harry and once again, she tried not to focus too much on these thoughts that lead her to the dark and tormented recesses of her mind. They caused her a great deal of dismay and frustration. The blonde kept walking forward, a chill running down her spine once again and she was not the only one, Tinya and Luornu joined her.

'_I don't think we should be here, this is one of the Forbidden Zones,' _Tinya thought as she looked up at the swirling red vortex. Once again, shivers went down her spine but Harry placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

'_Okay, I'll bite, what's the Forbidden Zone?' _Harry thought to them.

'_It's a location that has been sealed off from the rest of the galaxy, where the shattered remains of what was once profitable and amazing societies now rest,' _Imra explained to him. _'They are feral, savage, disturbed, depraved….'_

'_Do you have a few more adjectives that you might be able to throw out there?' _Harry thought back but he shuddered never the less.

'_I might,' _Imra thought as she took another step forward to get a full assessment of the situation.

"**THOSE WHO ARE UNWORTHY SHOULD TURN BACK."**

Harry sighed, that was not foreboding at all, no sir, not at all, not even a little bit. The wizard hovered above the ground a few inches and he clutched his hands together. The wizard knew that he shouldn't be here but they had to get across it, in order to get to the leader. So he flew forwards and kept moving for better or for worse.

He used his hearing to focus on something and there was a whistling in the wind that made his hairs stand up on the back of his neck. The young man kept walking a couple of steps and sank onto the ground. The Wizard craned his neck as he felt the hot winds blow in his face. There were whispers, strangled screams and chants that told them to turn back.

"Maybe we should turn back," Tinya suggested but there was a huge wall of fire that erupted behind them.

"And it's too late," Harry told them as he looked at the girls. "Everyone brace yourselves, this will get ugly."

The group knew by now to brace themselves, for the very worst. Hearts continued to pump at a fever pitch as Harry saw them. He could hardly believe that. The wizard's eyes flashed with agitation as it came to him immediately.

'_They've made a deal, oh have they made a deal,' _Harry thought to himself as he hoped that it did not seem as grave as he thought it was at first glance.

"Prepare yourselves!" Imra stated as flaming spikes flew towards her but she braced herself to block them.

The blonde used a telekinetic shield which the spikes bounced off of. She allowed herself a deep breath in order to help calm her mind. She kept the shield up and then she used a telekinetic whip which caused her enemies to go crashing into the ground with a series of cracks and crunches.

Tinya dodged through the spikes that came up from the ground in an attempt to impale her, holding her breath she kept turning intangible then phasing through them. She pushed herself up and she watched Harry with a smile.

Harry waved for her to move out of the way. The dark haired woman did a forward roll and avoided the attacks of what appeared to be a fire wielding creature.

"The Star Child, I should be honored!" the creature yelled as it spit lava at him with each word. It was disgusting and lethal at the same time, always a bonus.

"You need to get out more if you think that I'm known as that," Harry said as he closed his eyes then launched a blast of heat vision at his enemy, causing him to stagger back a step and a half under this furious assault.

Harry closed the gap between him and the creature with a super powerful punch that resounded outward with a sonic boom as it made impact. Which caused the creature and a few shadow demons who'd joined the battle to stagger around in a daze, the success of this pleasing Harry greatly, a smile crossing his face as he continued to fight.

"Keep going, through that portal, that's where we find them!" Harry yelled to them as Triplicate Girl closed in on one of the enemies, then ducked and rolled underneath them. She grabbed his feet and snapped his knee down with a rolling half crab. She stomped him on the back of the leg before bouncing back to her feet.

There was a loud explosion which caused Harry to pause in an attempt to determine the source of it. Time seemed to pause and everything stood still. The flashing lights were an attempt to confuse them, Harry had a feeling of this fact and he would not allow himself to be thrown off his game. He kept his eyes focused on what was going on ahead of him and the wizard jumped up into the air, with a whoosh that echoed all around him. That sound attracted the enemies of the Legion away from the girls.

The whoosh was followed by a smash as Harry crashed into the ground like a meteor. The wizard landed on top of his enemies and cracked them hard with his fists. The young man raised his hands up into the air and he saw the glowing vortex above them.

'_This has to be getting closer,' _Harry thought as he made his way forward and nearly tripped over his feet. Somehow he managed to keep his balance and scramble towards the portal.

The shield went up around it causing the girls and Harry to have to stop short or end up slamming hard into an invisible wall.

Harry paused and pondered, he knew now better than ever before that when there was a will, there was a way. He closed his hands together and energy flowed through his fingers. He was going to blast that wall with everything that he was worth.

He pushed his shoulder back and with a crack, smacked into it. The portal accelerated with more pulses of energy as Harry tried once again.

'_We're not going to make it,' _Tinya thought but they went through the portal with a pop.

'_I guess we made it,' _Imra thought and Harry stood up straight.

Yes they made it but to where, that was the question.

* * *

They were going to find out the answer to that question very quickly as Harry slid towards a spiral pattern. The spiral surrounded them, offering a vortex of energy that did not seem to be very friendly. The wizard frowned as he nearly bit down on his lip hard. He thought that they were going to stick their heads into the mouth of something very nasty but what that was, he did not know.

He could not say anything, hell he could barely move a muscle.

'**You were given an ample opportunity to turn back, now you must face utter annihilation.'**

The temperature appeared to be drop several degrees as several tech thieves appeared but they disappeared, fading into the dust. Now Harry was intrigued and also extremely suspicious. It was so frustrating that he nearly lost his wits but somehow through sheer force of will he kept it together.

"Everyone's here, and we're going to stand and fight you, no matter who you are!" Harry called out with a bold determination resounding through his voice. There was a second of doubt that he briefly squashed. He had little time to doubt what he could do, he needed to move forward.

"**So be it, you will fall, all will fall, you will be crushed.'**

One of the more bulky figures dropped down, and he had a sinister air around him. The darkness was strong around him much like Harry had sensed once before.

"**Once you've been defeated, you will not be a problem in my time ever again,'** the thunderous voice echoed.

Harry's lips contorted into half of a smile although said smile was rather fixed. "And what time is your time, per say?"

The dark figure answered with his voice dripping with malicious intent. "You will find that my time is that of all time."

"I've heard that one before, but the people who I've heard it from, were as sorely mistaken as you are," Harry told the figure off in the shadows.

"We'll see who the one is mistaken when I take you down."

Harry could feel the shadows, these features that rose from out underneath the ground.

"The despair of what remains in this realm is strong and…."

Harry fired off a huge burst of heat vision which knocked the dark brooding figure backwards.

"You talk too much," Harry offered to him as he stood with his jaw set. The wizard was not about to lose this battle, especially to someone who ran off at the gums like this individual. The wizard's gaze locked firmly on his enemy.

"Then, I will offer you nothing more but swift and decisive action," the figure offered from above him his eyes glowing with both power and his malicious intent.

'_Duck,' _Imra advised him, not that Harry needed any advice but she still wanted to be as clear as possible.

The wizard threw himself down to the ground and avoided the past as it nearly impacted him in the back of the head. The wizard's eyes flashed with agony as he tried to push himself up.

A beam came blasting down towards his chest but Harry blocked it with his hands. His will power, it would not burn out, no matter what.

His hands were nearly charred but Harry refused to back down. One more round, one last round, he didn't care what happened as long he stopped him in past, present, and future. The eyes of the wizard flowed with the personification of his power.

"Now you will feel power…."

Tinya launched herself through the throne causing a distraction, which allowed Harry to blast through the beams and headbutt this large brooding figure in the face.

"Har-Rell's right, you do talk too much," Tinya commented lightly.

The monstrous force was none too happy of being smacked down like that; in fact he was fairly steamed. Harry actually was happy about this because if the enemy was angry, then he would be careless and make mistakes. Although the darkness and negative feelings emanating off this force played havoc with his powers.

"Then the time for talk is done, it's time to end this," the figure stated grimly.

Whether it was Darkseid or one of his minions, it did not matter to Harry. He knew that the only way he was going to get out of this place was to throw down with his enemy. He cracked his knuckles and smiled grimly as he looked at the person before him.

"Well, I'm ready when you are," Harry told the man before him. "Come on, one on one, the both of us."

"It will be done."

The figure stepped down and it was then where Harry made his move. He just had to be a little quicker. The wizard's feet propelled him forwards in a flying shoulder tackle below the knees of his enemy, there was a huge crack that echoed out as his foe's knees to crumpled out from underneath him. Harry rose to his feet then turned to face his enemy who was on his hands and knees behind him. He couldn't help but notice that he seemed to be growing bigger almost as if he was absorbing the darkness around them to increase his size.

'_Obviously overcompensating for something,' _Harry thought as he shook his head with a smile as he lifted his hands above his hand for his next attack.

He rammed his hands down across the top of the head of an adversary with a double axe handle smash driving him into the ground so hard he bounced off the ground. As rose upwards Harry proceed to uppercut him which sent him toppling backwards.

Did Harry have him?

If he was only that lucky, things would work out for the best. He waited for it, time once again seeming to crawl to a halt.

'_The crypt, you should seal it!' _Imra suggested frantically to Harry, pointing out to the glowing door.

The expected response right out of Victor Von Doom's Guide To Being A Proper Evil Mastermind was there, although it was a bit delayed.

"YOU DARE!"

Harry could almost set his watch by statements like that. The thunderous explosion, the anger, everything that went along with it, but he had to focus on the problem ahead of him. This was gut check time for him.

The crypt was right in front of him, and Imra was right, sealing it would break the control that Darkseid had over his current avatar.

"I don't know why you persist…."

"Because I'm too stubborn to give up," Harry told him fiercely and both fists slammed into the face of the vessel, as he locked onto the crypt with all of his energy.

He pushed out more power than his body could handle. He knew that this would not end it. There was a cycle, of good and evil, a cycle of light and darkness, a cycle that has been around since before the beginning of time and a cycle that would be around since the end of time.

It was a cycle and Harry was never going to stop fighting, even if he was going to ultimately die in the struggle. He was never going to stop fighting for truth and justice.

No matter what, no matter how many times it happened, he would not stop fighting. His fist plowed into face of his the enemy and the rush of magical energy on impact forced him back.

A rumbling echoed outwards around them as the ground shook between them.

"Dare I ask?" Harry whispered and Imra looked towards him, frowning as she took a scan of the environment around them.

"It's coming undone," Imra told him and there was a few seconds where they exchanged determined looks.

Luornu saw the portal and pointed it out.

They were not stupid and they could see that Darkseid was going to be trapped here, at least the Darkseid that existed in the future, for some time.

There was an explosion but the quartet slipped out.

* * *

Harry was not going to lie, he thought that they cut that perilously close, perhaps a bit too close for comfort if he had to say so himself. The wizard shivered slightly as the group made their way forward. The immortal question went through their minds and Harry felt that he had to be the one to spit it out.

"So everyone in one piece?"

Harry asked the question and although the girls looked completely shaken, there was a few seconds where they nodded looking like overgrown bobble heads. It would have been quite the amusing sight had things not turned out to be so serious. Harry watched the girls, a smile crossing over his face as he sat down and leaned back in a chair.

"We're no closer in figuring out…."

"Actually everything went back to normal, that was one last desperate gambit," Imra told Harry as she looked at him with adoring eyes. "You're going to return to the past and you'll do what you always do to win."

"Oh, I can't wait," Harry offered, and he meant that with all honesty. He could not wait to face the enemy in the past.

"It's not completely hopeless," Tinya told him with a more serious tone to her than Harry ever heard from her in the short time that they spent together.

"Nothing is, as long as there is one degree of hope," Harry commented but then it clicked with him.

Of course, of course, could that….no he could not….Harry was just grasping at straws; he could not be….unless she was. His mind was going a million miles a minute never the less.

"Is there something the matter?" Irma thought, she got a sense that something was wrong, although she could be mostly wrong, at least she thought it was.

"No, just pondering….what happened over these past few days," Harry told her and Luornu offered him a bright smile.

"Well, regardless of what happened, we're glad to see that you've come," Luornu commented as she placed her hands on either side of Harry.

Tinya nodded, again it went without saying but when Imra went into the past without her and met Har-Rell during the Anti-Monitor incident, she refused to speak with her for a week. Sure things got muddled because of the great crisis but regardless of that fact. Har-Rell was a living legend and she was excited to meet him and thus mad that she missed her chance. The fact that she did far much more with him when they did meet was just that icing on the cake that made her smile.

"Well you can….but we're here," Imra told him as she watched him. "I'll check to see if it is safe to return you home."

"Not that we're rushing you out the door!" Luornu commented in an excited voice, although to be fair, she wanted her chance with Harry. If Tinya and Imra got their turns, it was only fair that she got some Har-Rell time as well.

Harry smiled.

"You did well today…."

"Yeah, you were awesome," the duplicate splitting girl stated as she looked at him. "So, Har-Rell, I need to show you something in my room, if you don't mind."

Tinya wanted to ram her head into the desk and the dark haired girl gave herself a shake of her head.

'_Well, someone's not trying to hide the fact that they want to get laid,' _the dark haired Legionnaire stated although she hoped to get one last piece of Harry before he returned back to the 21st century.

Although there would be many more chances but using time travel technology for a booty call might not be the most responsible use of it. Although the thought was really too tempting to ignore, she thought that she might want to err on the side of caution so she wouldn't do that. Well maybe. Actually she was probably going to. A lot.

Harry found himself waiting in Luornu's bedroom while sitting on her bed when he found himself surrounded by three duplicates, all of which were wearing completely wicked grins. And nothing else.

"It appears that I've been lured to your bedroom under false pretenses," Harry told them and the girls exchanged wicked grins as they kept their eyes on them.

"We're going to have some fun," Luornu commented and one of the dupes pressed her lips towards Harry's mouth for an intense kiss and the favor was returned with hunger and passions.

Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled the girl onto his lap, causing her to slide up and down off of him. He pinned her down and the other two versions of her made quick work of his pants, sliding them down, so the real fun and games could begin.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends.**

Harry rested on the bed, with Imra, Tinya, and all three versions of Luornu, all of them with looks of contentment that danced through their eyes as they relaxed on the bed. The group smiled as Harry was sandwiched between several beautiful girls.

He thought that this was the life and this was the life that he was willing to live. Imra snuggled into his waist and he pulled the woman into her. The blonde's eyes flashed towards her with the wizard's fingers going through her blonde hair.

"Oh, I checked….I checked the temporal flux," Imra told him and Harry watched her. "You should be about ready to leave."

"Ah, and it was just getting comfortable," Harry told the blonde and she smiled as she gave him a light kiss on the lips.

"Well, don't think that we're going to allow you to leave, without sending you off in style," Imra commented to Harry as the blonde playfully pinned Harry against the couch.

"Oh….do say?" Harry informed the blonde and her lips curled into a smile.

"Well, play your cards right Harry, and I might indulge you a little bit more, before I send you on your way," Imra offered him as she leaned forward.

This was something that she dreamed about for a long time so she made the other girls fall asleep. They had their fun with Harry, so she did not feel all that guilty about what she did. The blonde was ready to rock and roll with Harry once more.

Harry leaned back, he had to smile, he said it once and he will have to say it again, no matter what, this was the life. The blonde's lips pressed against his and the race began once more, and it would continue to go on long through the night.

* * *

"Now, you should be sent back to the exact moment in time where you were brought to the future," Imra told Harry and there was a second where Harry paused.

"I should be or that I will?" Harry asked, he figured he should have full disclosure on everything that was about to happen. Although there was a sense of what he was walking towards the long and winding road home.

"Well you should, there's a very slight probability that you will miss the mark but not by that much, maybe about three weeks on either side," Imra told him.

Harry's first thought was that it should not be too bad but his cynical thoughts indicated that a whole lot could happen within three weeks.

"Until next time, farewell," Imra commented as the energy engulfed Harry.

She was not saying goodbye, in fact, for all she knew, she could be seeing him in a few more days or weeks. She had the memories to keep her company.

Harry returned back home, despite all of the fun times he enjoyed in the future, it was good to be home. He saw the temporal energy that was flowing around him as it punched a hole through time and space. He was being brought closer and closer to home. The wizard was almost there, he was almost home. He was about there and he could hardly believe it. He was about to brace himself for everything with Harry dropping down on the ground.

The green eyes of Harry Potter flashed as he dropped down to the ground. He tried to figure out if he was mentally there, home sweet home. The wizard's expression went to one of discontent. No matter what, there was something about time travel that was not pleasant. The wizard shook off the ill feeling that he felt.

He was back at the Shining Light Foundation, it was all in one piece, all was well. Harry checked the date.

'_Two weeks, well what could happen in two weeks?' _Harry asked although he felt that this situation was tempting a great amount of fate. The young man took a deep breath as he prepared to find out.

"Harry, there you are, where were you?

Harry saw Kara standing in the doorway and looking rather frantic. The young wizard could see the frustration that was swimming through his wife's eyes. He could tell right away that something was up and he didn't like it even though he didn't know what it was. He took a half of a step forward and grabbed Kara by the hand. The blonde's eyes swam with worry.

"I thought something happened to you as well," Kara breathed, as she tried not to fly off of the handle and Harry caught on the words.

Harry figured that he had some explaining to do.

"There was a situation in the future involving Darkseid that I had to deal with," Harry commented and Kara closed her eyes.

"I should have…."

"No, you shouldn't have come with me, it's been dealt with," Harry commented as he lead Kara into the opposite office to allow her to sit down. The blonde parked herself next to Harry. The two of them eyed each other nervously.

Kara spoke and swallowed.

"It's Claire….she left in a huff a while back, about the entire….well you know what the problem was," Kara explained.

"I'm sure we'll….you couldn't catch her?" Harry asked Kara.

"I froze!" Kara yelled, she already felt awful about this. She held down the pad. "I found these symbols carved in the ceiling of Claire's room."

Claire always had a hot head and a short temper, as her powers indicated but Harry had to keep a really cool head. He grabbed the papers as he flipped through it and looked at the symbols, each of them alone presented a problem. The wizard honestly thought that not much could have happened in two weeks.

Harry watched her, he said nothing; he just wordlessly stared at the paper. He knew who was behind this and if they wanted to declare war on him, well he'll bring the battle.

Something struck him immediately, it was an unfortunate statement that resounded in the back of his mind, but it was very true.

They were no longer safe where they lived and that caused shivers to go down his spine. The battle was brought to them, along with the war.

**To Be Continued. **


	21. Chapter 21: Chasing Demons

**Chapter Twenty One: Chasing Demons.**

A young female looked up with utter contempt at the figure hovering in the sky above her, before the figure shot towards her in a blur. She tried to struggle to get out of the way but never the less, she was unable to slip free of an attempt to grab her.

"Let me go!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"WHERE IS SHE!?" the figure in the shadows demanded as he roughly wrapped his hands around the arms of the girl, who struggled with all of her might to break free of his grip. "I know that you know! You have her mark on you. You've been tainted by her!"

"I have not been tainted! I have been saved. My parents worked too much, they didn't have any time for me, but Granny, she showed me the way. I was a poor lost little lamb until she saved me!" she stated with the zeal of a fanatic as Harry blocked an energy rod being shot into his stomach.

"This one's been given a going over," Barda commented as she tried to punch her in the face but the young girl dodged out of the way at super speed. "And she's a quick bugger too."

"Yeah, I noticed," Harry commented in a dry voice as he looked at Barda. "Try not to hurt her, she's just a kid."

Barda ducked her head and rolled out of the way as the girl spat acid at her, avoiding the attack. Harry was forced to use a shielding spell as she was now shooting energy blasts towards them as well.

"Okay, did her parents get her meteor powers for Christmas?" Tess asked as she showed up out of the shadows to join them. "The other ones weren't like this….she can't be…."

"Granny's pumped up her children," Barda commented as she tried to remember that this was a little girl, albeit a little girl who could spit acid, shoot plasma blasts from her hand, and attack them at the speed of light.

"Enough!" Harry yelled as he blocked the second blast with his heat vision. He then used his ice breath to freeze her hands blocking off her ability to shoot energy blasts from them. "I don't want to hurt you but if you don't cool down. I'm going to have no choice in the matter."

"Yeah right! That's what they said. I'm going to take you down, you've been very rude to Granny!" the girl commented as she lifted her hand despite the fact it was frozen solid, when suddenly, a blonde blur pulled her off the ground then slapped an inhibitor collar around her neck.

"There, that should block everything, including whatever fail safes that Granny has put on her," Kara said in a tense voice. She hadn't gotten any sleep in a month and despite her powers, she was showing that she wasn't in a very good mood because of it.

"M'gann, you're up," Harry told the white Martian who stepped forward.

"Relax. We aren't going to hurt you, you're mind has been messed with," M'gann commented as she tried work her way into the mind of the girl before her, who squirmed and shuddered at the contact. The mental probe was not as easy as it looked on the surface.

"So, any good?" Barda asked M'Gann and the White Martian looked over her shoulder towards her, biting down on her lip in thinly veiled despair at the interruption. "Sorry, I'll be as quiet as I can but you've got to realize that…."

"Granny's been picking up runaways, tempting them with the prospect of family," M'gann informed them.

"Claire wouldn't be….."

"I don't know," Barda commented to Harry as she put her arms around the shoulders of both Kara and Harry, pulling them in close. "I know Granny, she can be oddly manipulative."

Tess's pupils dilated as she flashed back, it was a rainy night much like this one, and then she found herself locked in a basement. She struggled to free herself and yelled for help but there were no answers.

'_Child, you will always be one with him, you shall never forsake him,' _the voice commented and Tess shook her head as Harry grabbed her around the shoulder.

'_I'm….I'm…'_

"Tess, is it another one of the episodes?" Harry asked her in a quiet and calm voice and Tess slowly nodded her head.

"Yes it's one of the episodes, they're getting worse than they were before," Tess offered as she threw her head back with a frustrated sigh as Harry wrapped his arm around her. The redhead's body pressed against his as Harry offered her a reassuring smile which gave her strength.

"I wish I could help but….."

"No, don't apologize, you have far bigger problems than my psychological issues," Tess offered to Harry with a smile that went across her face. "You've got to worry about things….regarding your own daughter."

"You do realize that it wasn't Claire that she was after," Hope commented quietly and Harry looked at her. Perhaps it was Hope's imagination or perhaps a trick of the light but Harry did not quite look her in the eye when he said the next thing.

"I know," Harry offered with tension in his voice as he looked towards Hope. He didn't mean to be so short with her, it was just that everything was crashing down hard on him, all at once.

"I have something," M'gann commented.

For the first time in a while, Harry felt some slight hope, or perhaps a lead he'd be able to pursue.

"Claire overheard the girls talking about Granny and she thought….well I think that she thought that she could prove herself to you by going to her and trying to get information regarding Darkseid," M'gann offered and she closed her eyes, waiting for the other shoe to drop as a pained expression passed over both Harry and Kara's faces.

'_Oh Claire,' _Harry thought to himself as he shook his head. That sounded like something he would do when he was that age which made him all that much angrier at this situation.

'_After she….after she ran away, she must have run into them…..it was a trap,' _Kara commented as she watched him and Harry looked strangely tranquil.

Something caught his eye having fallen out of the girl's discarded purse when they took her down. Reaching down her proceed to pick up a business card that seemed to be made out of metal giving it a hard unfeeling look. There was a single name stamped into it.

"Club Desaad," Harry whispered.

"Desaad," Barda commented, the name causing her to close her eyes with a full body shudder. "That's one of Darkseid's stooges."

'_Chloe, please, find me information you can about Club Desaad,'_ Harry projected to her.

'_Right,' _Chloe commented seriously, without any of the usual humor in her voice.

Time was running out.

X-X-X

A month ago, Claire Potter tore out of her home as fast as her legs could take her, breathing heavily, she was about ready to blow her top but she somehow managed to reign her temper in slightly. The redhead teenager pulled herself up and made her way forwards until she nearly collapsed against the side of a building. Once she allowed herself to cool down, she would be able to figure out what this situation was and how much she didn't like it. The redhead's eyes widened as she hung onto a wall as she absentmindedly peered over it.

"We're going to figure this out, there's no way he's going to be able to stop this. No matter how hard he tries."

Claire's ears perked up, that was not something that sounded familiar, at least not to her. She wondered who they were referring to, and she took a half of a step forward, nearly pivoting on her foot. It was really hard to keep her balance.

"Yes, Har-Rell, he's gotten in Granny's way once more, now he's…."

Claire tuned it out and the redhead folded her arms as she nearly lost to balance.

So they were after her father, well that was something, but it was tricky to even concentrate right now. She wanted to be useful, she wanted to help out, but at the same time Claire felt that knot twist in her stomach. There was this tell tale sign that she was stepping into a situation where she was in way over her head.

'_So….what are they doing?' _Claire asked and she edged carefully forwards. There was a back and forth battle going on in her head, and she once again took another step but it was hard to stay on her feet. The redhead felt a huge amount of dizziness fill her being as she was pulled back and forth between two different thoughts. She had no idea what she wanted to do, except for the fact that she knew what she had to do now.

"Are you lost?" one of the older girls asked in a calm voice.

"I think she is, I think she's lost," another one of the girls commented.

Claire was standing in the middle of Metropolis about two blocks from the Shining Light Foundation.

"Yeah, I'm lost," Claire commented to them, making a snap decision of what she was going to do. If she could figure out what this Darkseid guy was doing, then she could prove that she was ready. She didn't need to move mountains and crack moons in order to be ready after all.

"Well then come with us, we'll help you find your way home," one of the girls offered and the other girls all nodded, looking like wind up toys as they did.

Claire hesitated but one of the girls grabbed her firmly around the arm.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay," the eldest girl said to Claire and the other girls all nodded, smiles across their faces. "Just come with us. Trust us, it's going to be okay."

Claire swallowed the lump that was in her throat, if they said that it was okay, well she knew better but she never the less stepped forward.

There was a club behind her and then one of the girls shoved a paper bag over her head, which caused her to drop to the ground. She caused the bag to light on fire, and another girl stepped forward, touching her.

One touch caused Claire's nervous system to shut down briefly.

"We have her, Granny," the tallest, who was the eldest of the girls commented. "She's just like her father, so idealistic, so predictable."

"Good work, my angels, now bring the precious thing here, oh she must be so confused, her mind being filled with ideas of false hope, why she has forsaken what is true."

Claire could barely figure out what was going on here, only that she'd been dragged into a trap. She tried to struggle out of the predicament that she was in, only to find out that she could not because her arms were held together. The redhead panted heavily as she was lifted up. She tried to push her way free but there was no escaping.

"Come here, child, it's going to be fine, I'm going to fix things where you never have to feel the pain and the despair ever again."

Claire heard the voice but her senses were not working right. She was pushed back and knew by the time that everything happened, it would be much too late for her to do anything. She should have turned around and went home, she really wish that she did not leave now. Now she was in a fix, she felt the ringing go through her head. It was much too late.

Back in the present, Claire's mind rebelled against the changes and the redhead's eyes flashed with panic. She tried to staved off the splitting headache she received.

"It's alright, Volcana," one of the Furies breathed in her ear. "It's going to be alright."

"It's not….yes, I understand," Claire commented.

"She's mentally one of the toughest so far," another of the Furies commented, she had been with Granny for a long time. She cracked a whip against the ground. "However that makes the fun of breaking her even greater."

Two other hooded figures stepped forwards as another Fury watched them.

"These two lost lambs also rebelled against Granny's tender touch," one of the Furies offered with a smile. "But in the end, they were brought into the pack, brought into our family. We worship him, no false idol from the stars will ever defeat him, no mere Herald of Death, for he is the Anti-Life."

Claire closed her eyes.

"They are getting closer," one of the Furies commented as she pushed herself forward. "We're going to have to give them a cheerful welcome."

X-X-X

'_I found information about Club Desaad and keep in mind, a lot of this is off the record,' _Chloe thought to Harry. _'Rumors….'_

'_I know better than anyone else that rumors have a degree of validity to them,' _Harry thought as he looked over his shoulder. _'Speak your case, Chlo.'_

'_Right,' _Chloe commented as she allowed herself to get her thoughts together. The blonde was trying to figure out how to phrase things properly._ 'It's a club for S and M fetishes, but a lot of supposedly upstanding politicians, you know the type that classify themselves as family men, they set up shop there.'_

'_Okay, that's fascinating,' _Harry thought as he closed his eyes.

'_It's just the tip of the iceberg, there is prostitution, drug rings, child pornography sales, all kinds of backdoor stuff and who knows what else they could be into,' _Chloe commented and Kara looked over her shoulder to Harry.

'_Are we sure this is the place?' _Kara commented but never the less she cracked her knuckles. Determination flowed through her eyes as she hovered a few inches off of the ground. The blonde turned her head from one side to the other to make sure they were not being followed. Then she started forward at a steady pace.

'_Trust me, this is the place,' _Harry thought as he cracked his neck. The young wizard leaned a little bit closer and he felt a bit of an arch in his back. He held his head up high or at least as high as he could manage. He took a half of a step inside the club.

There was a group of thugs who were in the club laughing. In the back of the club, one of the Senators that had supported the Super Human Registration act sat with red eyes, surrounded by a thick cloud of smoke. The Potters took a step forward as Harry placed his arm around Kara.

"May I help you?"

Harry recognized her face, it was one of the Furies from one of Tess's memories. He had gotten a peek at them through the bond. She was a bit older but she did age rather gracefully.

"You seem like the type of guy who needs a good time," the female offered to him as she held the whip in her hand and offered him a saucy grin.

"My husband and I, aren't here looking for a good time. We're looking for our daughter," Kara commented with a heated tone to her voice.

Harry couldn't help but face palm at that. Wishing that she'd exercised a little more tact but given the circumstances, he could understand.

Barda turned up then and everything stopped around them. The girl stood up, her dark hair framing her face and flowing down her back. She was dressed in a skin tight black bodysuit that clung to every one her curves as well as her D-Cup breasts. The bodysuit wrapped around her tight ass as well. In fact it was so tight that it showed off everything that she had to offer to the point she might as well have been naked.

"I can't say I'm surprised to see you here, still hiding under Granny's skirt after all this time," Barda commented and the woman stepped forward.

"I have no idea…"

"Oh I think you have an idea, I think you have a really good idea," Barda said in a threatening voice as the woman grabbed the other one by the arm.

"Help, security, I'm being assaulted!" the woman yelled as Barda held her with a firm grip.

"You bitch, you're not going to pull that trick," Barda commented as she grabbed her arm harder but the woman released the whip and smashed it around her ankle.

"And that was for forsaking our dear, sweet, Granny!" the woman yelled out as her eyes flashed with malice and she cracked her whip. The whip slashed out at her but Kara caught it with her hand and hoisted her up, causing the woman to dangle in the air.

"Oh, you want to fly!" the woman commented but suddenly another three women appeared on the floor.

"Good, I needed a work out," Barda stated as she cracked her knuckles and the patrons of the bar started to panic. Two of the women tried to jump her at the same time but she grabbed one of them and hoisted her up. She then slammed her enemy down with a huge Muscle Buster. The woman crumpled under the force of the impact.

Harry saw a flash of magical energy shoot towards him. He blocked it immediately with a shield spell. The woman with the magical powers blasted at him again and his shield was just barely able to block the assault. Harry counted with an attack of his own that pushed the woman back. The dark haired woman closed her eyes and Harry saw a hint of her eyes underneath the bulky cloak that she wore. It hid any assets that she might have had otherwise.

'_Okay, one of them….they couldn't have brought Claire here, could they?' _Kara asked as she blocked the metallic claws that one of the woman swiped at her with.

Hope appeared from the other side and the leader of the Female Furies looked at her with a smile on her face.

"We have the one," the leader of the Furies commented and she tried to snap her whip but the redhead blocked it.

"No, I don't think so," Hope commented as she used a telekinetic punch to drill her in the face.

Harry strode forward, only for a large man of African decent walk forward and intercept him. The Furies all stepped back, bowing before him. He was huge and hulking, and dressed in a dark suit. His eyes were glowing red and Harry recognized him immediately.

"Wilson Fisk," Harry commented and the large man cracked his knuckles.

"No, Har-Rell, I'm the one that will bring about your end," Fisk commented as his eyes glowed brighter for half of a second before a huge beam of energy shot forth to nail Harry hard in the chest.

Harry flew back from the impact and crashed hard into the closest wall. He felt pain for the first time in a long time. He had been caught off guard and as a result he took three or four more beams to the chest.

"You're no longer safe in your own house, Harry Potter-Kent," Fisk commented as his voice got deeper and more sinister as he was once again blasted the Kryptonian in front of him. He was being curbed stomped but he struggled to his feet, only to be blasted down once again. "You will fall before me."

Kara, Barda, and Hope tried to get through but an energy field blocked them.

"Your daughter sends her regards," Fisk told him as a portal opened with a thunderous boom and he stepped on through, some of the Furies following him.

Not all of them however, as at the last minute, Harry lifted his hand and levitated the discarded whips into the air, before using them to bind the field leader then pull her towards him.

Harry smiled, despite the blood dripping from his mouth. He had hit upon something tangible.

X-X-X

The captured member of the Female Fury hung upside down from her own whip. She tried to kick free but found herself held tightly in place.

"You will pay for this," the woman growled out as she watched Harry with a furious look on her as she swung back and forth.

"Hardly, Lashina," Barda commented as she wanted to smack around this snotty little bint a little bit. She was holding herself back but they needed information. Information they weren't going to get if they knocked all of the woman's teeth out.

"Have you been collecting traitors?" Lashina asked as she looked at Tess standing in the shadows. "You could have been as great as any other member of your bloodline but you chose to live a mediocre existence. You are nothing…."

"We have a very different idea of what it means to be nothing," Tess told her coldly as she glared at the woman that was hanging before her, her contempt was obvious, although she tried not to let it show on her face.

"You don't know anything!" Lashina stated as she watched the redhead. She had been given a home by Granny and this deserter threw it away. That made her less that nothing, that much Lashina could say for sure. She swung her legs back and forth as she tried to break free from her bindings.

"I know a lot of things," Harry said to the woman as he stared her down. "You know more than you've let on and you know what Darkseid's final plan is."

"His final plan is liberation," Lashina commented fiercely as she stared down at the trio who stood in the background. "You are nothing. You've always been nothing, you will never be anything. You are merely a patchwork copy that was thrown together in a attempt to prevent Darkseid from taking over, but our great leader. He will not be stopped by the likes of you! You are inferior to him in every way that matters!"

"You'll find out that I can stop him," Harry commented but his voice was lacking in confidence. His eyes closed as he tried to figure out what she was doing.

"You will tell us where Claire is," Kara demanded hotly as she was trying to keep her temper in check but considering that it was her daughter, she found it very hard to keep calm and collected.

"Do not blame me! Do not blame Granny! Do not blame Darkseid! Claire had her true potential stifled by you!" Lashina stated with a taunting sneer as she looked at him. "Do not blame me for her forsaking you! When you have forsaken her first."

Harry did not like this statement being thrown up in his face, especially given that there was some validity to it. He had been distracted with other things but he figured that Claire could take care of herself just fine given that she was a teenager. However, as Harry saw it, that was the problem. She was teenager, prone to random fits of insanity. Therefore, for better or for worse, her emotions got the better of her.

"I'm going to give you one final chance," Harry threatened her.

"So talk," Barda commented as she would sooner crack the skull of this woman but Lashina smiled back at her.

"You don't have any pull against me," Lashina commented as she stared at Harry, almost daring him to attack her. "You know it, I know it, we all know it. You're nothing compared to him and you'll be even less when it's over. You need me a lot more than I need you. And if you kill me, you lose the one life line to the one that you've forsaken."

"She's not cracking," Tess whispered to Harry and unfortunately it was the truth. Harry was at his wits end trying to figure out a way to make this woman speak, even though her tongue had been less than cooperating.

'_So what will we do now?' _Chloe asked Harry and there was a few seconds where Harry paused.

That was a good question. There were so many times in the past that he had all of the answers, mostly because he manipulated the chessboard. However, someone changed all of the rules and now for the first time, Harry was on the outside looking in. It was a very sobering experience and not one that he took pleasure in but never the less it was one that he had to experience.

'_Harry?' _Chloe asked him, thinking that he dropped from the call.

'_I honestly don't know, not this time,' _Harry thought to her as he figured out everything. He tried not to betray how much he was out of control but at the same time, his emerald eyes flickered with even greater frustration. The young man placed a hand on his hip and looked outside the Shining Light Foundation.

He looked at the computer.

'_Locate Claire Potter,' _Harry thought to it.

'_Invalid parameters,' _the computer fired back in a droll voice and Harry sighed, that was not what he had in mind but that's what he heard.

'_Not a thing,' _Chloe commented and there was another pause. _'We'll find her, you know that right.'_

Harry knew that they would find Claire, eventually. The state that she would be in at the time, well that would be another matter entirely. They caught the Field Leader of the Furies but that was a hollow victory. She was not saying anything, M'gann and Hope together could not crack through her mental barriers.

'_If only I had a better clue,' _Harry commented as he turned around.

He had another daughter that he was worried about but the moment that Claire was kidnapped, Amanda was brought to New Krypton where she would be under the watchful eye of Alura and Lara. They would be able to keep an eye on her and hopefully this would allow Harry and Kara to get Claire back.

On the other hand, Harry went face to face with the vessel Darkseid chose and he nailed Harry with everything. He still was feeling the burn of what happened.

He beat Darkseid in the future but he had already been beaten pretty bad by Harry according to what the Legion said. Given the fact that the future was not set in stone, Harry wondered for the first time how much of a sacrifice it would take to take Darkseid down in the present time.

He prepared to go to war.

X-X-X

"He is nervous, you've got the poor little lost lamb on the ropes," Granny commented as she leaned back and watched, looking through the window of the Orphanage where dozens of little girls were being groomed. Some of them had future potential for their army. Those who were not strong enough for combat would be sold for other services to wealthy buyers. "My Lord, you have him right where you want him.

"Naturally," he commented from the shadows. While the mortal shell of Wilson Fisk had certain drawbacks, Darkseid could not fully manifest himself in this realm yet. With each passing day, he grew stronger. More souls were tempted, their darkest desires converted into energy for him. "He is strong, he cannot be tempted, so we must take his heart but she is but one component."

Darkseid smiled or rather Wilson Fisk smiled. Fisk bargained with Darkseid for his life and got everything, a new lease on life as Darkseid flattened the dimension that he was in. The lord of Apokolips got a vessel that would allow him to acquire resources. Even though Harrison Luthor had been an unfortunate spanner in his plan, he had contingencies.

"A force as old as life itself will be mine, and soon the Anti-Life Equation will also be at hand, therefore I will no longer need to limit myself to one world at a time, others would fall beneath my heel," Darkseid offered with a twisted tone to his voice. "It will be mine alone, she thought that she could protect it by putting it in her progeny, but just as I flattened that universe's version of Harry Potter, I will flatten this one."

"He will not be able to stop you, great Darkseid," Granny commented as she gave a slight bow. "Those who have been forsaken you will suffer unimaginable pain and they will be taught a lesson. They will obey the darkness and you will be almighty.

"I am already almighty. And they will learn as much," Darkseid offered as he stepped back and watched the girls, every happy memory from their past lives was drawn out of them. "She still resists."

"She is not like the other ones, great one, her origins…are complicated, I wonder if Harry Potter knew the truth of them," Granny told Darkseid.

"The point is irrelevant now," Darkseid told her.

Darkseid thought about it, he could have crushed Harry Potter right then and there, Har-Rell was nothing to him but a cockroach. However by crushing him now, it would dilute the importance of his inevitable triumph. The darkness would reign supreme and all would obey him. The Phoenix Force was this close to being within his grasp.

Yet it slipped out of his grasp, the other half of the Phoenix Force, the half that was placed within Hope, it was trapped. No hope would remain once he had had it. He was hoping that the Potter girl was going to be the bargaining chip that he needed.

All Hope would be lost.

"Day by day, even if the VRA has not been passed, people lose faith in their heroes, time after time, they question their actions when they fail to save the day," Darkseid commented as he looked out. Glorious Godfrey had been silenced by Harrison Luthor but that was just one minor annoyance. There were other ways for him to undermine the heroes and sour public opinion against them.

Despite how powerful these heroes were, they could not always be there. Darkseid crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at the girls in front of them. He sensed some power in the girls, although others, they were weak. They should be put down not as to not dilute the power of the others. He felt the despair as a small part of all of them continued to resist.

"Every day, I grow stronger," Darkseid commented.

"Forgive me…."

"I know what you're going to say, and I will dispense with him when the time is right, you need to learn about context, you need to learn about timing, I will allow him to see the world burn underneath his feet, no matter how hard he tries he will be unable to save it," Darkseid said as he looked up. "I will have the blood of his worthless mates run at his feet, all of them crying out for help but there will be no help. He will lose them all one by one, until all he has left is his life. Then he will beg me to take that as well to spare him the misery."

The woman's eyes widened as she saw it.

"There will be a bloodletting, and the traitors are first on the list," Darkseid commented as he turned himself around and walked forward.

Granny nodded, she knew that Barda and Lutessa thought they were safe but they had turned their backs on her, after all she done for them. She took steps to ensure that her little angels would not lose their way ever again.

They would be Granny's forever.

**To Be Continued.**


	22. Chapter 22: Chasing Ghosts

_Don't panic but I'm likely not going to update anything until next year.  
_

**Chapter Twenty Two: Chasing Ghosts.**

Harry Potter was not going to lie, he had better nights than this one. He'd been searching for a week pretty much non stop for his daughter. It was starting to effect his mind, mostly because it was effecting his sleep schedule a hell of a lot than his normal load did. Yet, he had to focus, there was more on the line than there ever was before. His emerald eyes burned bright as he kept walking towards his destination.

'_I have to be very close, or this is the third dead end tonight,' _Harry thought as he held his head up. He had shaken down more thugs in one night than Batman did in a year. Kara was back at the Shining Light Foundation in case any news broke on that end.

He closed his eyes, that was another mystery that faded off into the dust. The wizard's mind was this close to being lost but he managed to keep his mind on everything, despite the grim situation.

He had to focus and find Claire, then he would worry about everything else later. He took a half of a step forward as he leaned his head back and offered a sigh. There was a few noises down the alleyway, was it a cat, or was it something else entirely?

No most certainly not a cat.

Harry heard something alright and his hearing was going to be amped up. He had run into a few potential suspects throughout the night but he had a feeling that he was getting closer. Each moment that he failed to find her, even with the magic of magic, he was getting more desperate.

"YOU!" Harry yelled, all sense of being subtle flying out the window.

A hooded figure standing in the alleyway slowly turned to face, a pair of claws popping out of her hands as she did so.

"Do you think those things are going to…."

She moved quickly, Harry gave her that. Her extended claws nearly slicing and dicing him. Harry was quick on his feet but he was not thinking so clearly these days. He tried to avoid the claws of this young woman, although with the quickness of her attacks, it was very hard to do so. Every time she stabbed at him, she got quicker and came closer to hitting her target. She was about a step and a half ahead of anything that Harry could do and given his current situation, he could do a whole lot.

Thankfully, help was on the way, as a pair of trash cans were engulfed in magical energy then hurled through the air, nailing his enemy hard in the side of the head.

Rachel turned up but she was not alone as she would soon find out.

"She must have some kind of healing ability,' Rachel commented but suddenly another figure, dressed in a crimson cloak, blasted her with a blue light from behind. The half demon went flying from the attack and crashed into a set of trash cans, toppling them over.

_'It would have to be trash day,' _she commented dryly to herself.

Rachel was not too happy about the unwarranted assault from behind. Her eyes flared with absolute nastiness as she spun around to see the person standing behind her. She had dark eyes and flowing auburn hair that came out from underneath her cloak but that was all that Rachel could make out.

Kory turned up, her green eyes flaring with power. She held one of her hands up, before blasting the woman in the face. The star bolt hit her full on and she skidded back a half of a step but she did not go down. A magical shield manifested her, blocking the attack.

"That should have been more unpleasant for her than it was," Kory offered to them and Harry grimaced at the thought of being hit full on with a star bolt.

Rachel was ready for another round with this mysterious scarlet witch and the two of them went back and forth with each other. Spells flew through the air as both of them tried to gain an upper hand on the other. She could tell that there was a certain chaotic quality to this other magic users powers.

Rachel, remembering what Harry told her about not relying on her magic alone, rushed in and grabbed the girl by the hair, before hurling her into the closest wall.

The girl bounced back, there was nothing but a vapid and quite lifeless look present in her unblinking eyes. That proved one thing to Harry and that was she was pretty much down for the count. The young wizard offered a pained sigh as he tried to figure out what he needed to do to break the spell.

Breaking the spell on her might offer him a clue as to Claire's location. Their guest at the Shining Light Foundation was not cooperating and M'gann had been trying to break through her mental barriers for a week. Darkseid thought of everything and he seemed to be one step ahead of them.

Of course, Clawy McStabbyTime used that exact moment to go after Harry. She moved really fast and Harry had to take his hat off to her, some of those attacks looked pretty deadly. He had to keep a step and a half ahead of this young woman for obvious reasons. Still, he was pretty close to determining a way to escape her attacks.

Dodging her latest attack by shifting the side at the moment. Which caused to overshot her mark and her claws ended up get stuck into the closest wall. Harry used the opportunity to pull the hood off her. She looked to be Claire's age, maybe slightly older, and this underlined what Granny was doing.

Kory and Rachel were blasted hard and sent flying head over heels onto the ground by a third figure. The two of them were almost able to get up but found that their enemy was going to open a portal to escape them.

'_Let her leave,' _Harry thought to both of the girls with a smile. This was a rare slip up by his enemies and he was not about to look a rather prominent and obvious gift horse in the mouth. Especially with something like this, as he calculated what needed to be done in his mind.

'_And we're just letting her leave, why?' _Rachel asked, although she was going to trust that Harry had a plan.

'_Because I have a plan,' _Harry offered to the young half-demon. There was a sense where she paused and was going to ask him what the plan was. However, Harry got the sense, that she had the sense, that she should know better about such a thing, for she would learn the plan all in due time.

Harry managed to lock onto an easily traceable portal, it was about the third time that he could do this. One portal could not be tracked that well but three portals, that could be tracked quite nicely to pinpoint an exact location

The only problem was that Harry could not shake that very obvious feeling that there was a chance that he might be lead into a trap.

* * *

Tess stood in front of an Orphanage that stirred up memories, although they were memories that she would have liked to suppress. Yet, she was glad they came back. It defined who she was and it showed the hardships that she overcame, that she still had to overcome. It was something that defined her.

Some might say that these memories defiled her but she shook her head, she had to remain strong, confident, and she had to step towards her latest destination, for better or for worse.

'_Okay, here goes nothing,' _Tess thought although there was something that indicated that she was fixing to step into the lion's den and put her mouth into the head of said beast.

In other words, it was something that Tess Mercer did, because she was not about to back down, no matter what the reason. She kept walking forward but she heard something. Something creaked.

She pulled a concealed weapon out of her coat jacket and pointed it forwards. She relaxed a second but only for a second when she saw it was Harry.

"Good reflexes, although you were a bit slow in pulling the trigger," Harry offered to Tess and the redhead continued to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"Well, I'd hate to have to hurt you, unless you're Harrison and not Harry," Tess commented, then there was a few reasons that she could shoot him, that bastard deserved any pain that was coming to him.

"Well, I'm Harry, at least as far as you know," Harry told Tess, although he enjoyed keeping that air of mystery in his voice, mostly because he was amused by messing with her head a little bit. However, he didn't do it too much. "The thing is I've tracked the portal trails to this location where we stand."

"It's from my dreams, the more things change, the more things stay the same," Tess commented as she looked over the Orphanage, there was a sense of foreboding.

"Granny likes her old tricks," Barda stated roughly as she joined them. There was a large part of her that hoped the old crone was here because she had a score to settle and she imagined her hands wrapping around the woman's neck, preparing to strangle every last bit of life out of her.

"I can see that," Harry offered as he craned his head and tried to listen.

He heard weird music coming from within the Orphanage. He recalled that repetition played a huge part in brainwashing people. He recalled Harry Potter's brief time under the thumb of the Ministry of Magic as they tried to turn him into a tool to wipe out Muggleborns. It took a lot of repetitive cues to get people to bend to your will. The young man took a step forward but it was abandoned.

Or was it?

Harry took another step forward and felt the wall which was warping in and out of reality.

'_Jackpot,' _Harry thought to himself and he saw Tess and Barda behind him. Diana joined him as well, she was always good for a fight being an Amazon. Kory and Rachel also followed, it would be good practical experience for them to go on this mission.

'_This must be where that hag brain washes her latest recruits,' _Diana mused, she was not too pleased about these young girls being brainwashed. She imagined what might have happened if someone like Granny Goodness got her hands on Donna and screwed with her mind.

Diana would want to do unholy things to them and it would not end pleasantly for all involved. She closed her fists dangerously and fairly violently as she took another step forward.

'_Just stay focused, please,' _Harry thought to his wife and there was a few seconds where the Princess of the Amazons had to remember that fact. She was stepping into a certain territory that made her a bit freaked out, not that much, just a tiny bit.

'_Right, sorry, got to stay focused,' _Diana mentally replied as she soaked in the foreboding atmosphere. The eerie music continued to play.

'_I know, Diana, it's hard, hell even I have my doubts, there's something down here that shouldn't be, so keep your eyes focused,' _Harry commented.

He knew why Darkseid wanted to destroy him painfully, because in the back of Darkseid's mind. He was the one guy that the lord of darkness knew could beat him. At least that's what Harry hoped, he could be wrong, in fact there have been many times where he was very wrong. Especially since the merger, he had been mistaken more often than not.

He really hoped that this was not one of those times where he was wrong, although there was a sense that he was walking into an entire den of snakes.

There was a humming and Harry looked over his shoulder, giving a panicked yell, even though it was not truly needed.

"DUCK!"

He did in fact duck, as did everyone else. There was a bolt of magical energy that flew towards them all and Harry looked up to see his two newest playmates.

There was the scarlet witch and the girl with the claws, along with four or five other girls. All of them with the intent of taking them apart.

Diana held her lasso in hand, wondering if there was any way it its magical properties could break the spell. At least she hoped it could. There was a sense that she barking up the wrong tree a little bit but she had to try, she really had to try.

'_Okay, here goes nothing,' _Diana commented as she tried to use her lasso to latch on to her adversaries but unfortunately, the girl with the claws was a bit more hostile than the Amazon Princess had anticipated. She swiped her claws towards the wondrous woman and there was a few seconds where Diana staggered backwards.

Harry saw her there and her eyes flashed. She stared back at him and there was a moment where she paused. Claire hesitated.

"Attack him, what are you waiting for?" one of the Furies demanded. It was obvious that she had no problem with mass mayhem and destruction.

"Claire, snap out of it, snap out of it!" Harry yelled but there was obviously no snapping out of it with the look in Claire's eyes.

Things were about to heat up.

* * *

Claire tried to fight what was going on in her mind but there was a never ending battle that went through her mind. The redhead was trying to push herself further and further from the abyss that she sank in. She thought about something but there was a headache that blocked her from thinking rationally.

She always was at the Orphanage, Granny took her in, saved her from the government, didn't she?

Claire's mind was ringing as she tried to hold her head up but she saw these familiar pair of green eyes.

'_He's going to take you back,' _a matronly voice said to her and Claire felt goose bumps rise on the back of her arms. She closed her eyes and her heart was beating a little faster as she tried to take another step forward but her knees knocked together. There was a few seconds where she pushed herself back.

"Stay back!" Claire yelled as fire appeared around her.

Harry closed his eyes, he was going to have to take her down gently, because not only was she was his daughter, but she was a hormonal teenage girl with powers. Powers that were dangerous enough to kill someone.

"Claire, I don't want to hurt you!"

Claire had no context to figure out why, but she figured that he hurt her somehow, although she could not really figure out precisely what happened.

Laura showed up and Harry kind of wished she hadn't. Her very appearance caused Claire to get even more hot and bothered. She was practically shaking in rage and her anger flowed through her eyes. There was a few seconds where the redhead snapped her eyes up at her with burning hatred manifesting in them.

"YOU!" Claire yelled.

Once again she did not know why, but she was anger about this woman being here.

"Look! Claire! You need to calm down!" Laura pleased with her gently.

Claire was throwing blasts of fire, obviously she was not about to calm down anytime soon.

A hex bolt knocked Laura out of the air but Rachel showed up, her eyes glowing as she levitated pieces of smolding debris away and kept them from harming any innocent bystanders.

The hex bolts blew up more bits of the ground. The explosive charges causing Rachel to be thrown off balance.

Laura grabbed the witch in scarlet robes around the head but the girl with the claws showed up.

"Take some of that!" Kory yelled and tried to blast her adversary. There was a huge explosion and the claw girl went flying backwards. She would heal but that did not cancel out the pain she got from being blasted full on in the face. The bright green bolt hitting her in the face quite frankly sucked.

Volcana dropped to her knees, she was having flash backs. There were memories that she had when she was trapped in a lab. The redhead saw that she was in the lab, experimented on, with her powers.

'_Hold her down, take her down,' _a voice stated.

'_Rewrite her mind, dear Granny will make it all better!' _another voice said and several more echoed.

Claire's eyes rolled into the back of her head as it throbbed in pain. She felt like, she was going to lose her mind. In fact she was having a meltdown.

Claire's eyes throbbed in the back of her head and there was a sense where she was going to lose her mind. In fact she was having a meltdown.

'_Don't move until the moment I tell you too,' _Harry told Laura,who nodded in agreement.

Kory went face to face with claw girl and her eyes were glowing.

"I can see it in your eyes, you don't want to kill me," Kory commented as she blocked her hand. She pushed back hard and tried to rip Kory's hand off. The Tamarian Princess was pushed back but she countered by propelling the claw girl off of the side of the building.

Rachel closed her eyes as she saw the chaotic energy swirling around her. There was no question about it, this was going to suck, no two ways about it. Her heart was drumming even more quickly as she pushed back and she heard the ringing, the whistling, and there were more sounds that beat into her here.

'_Okay, focus,' _Rachel commented as she closed her eyes.

Two bolts of extremely powerful magical energy shot directly at each other. They combined in mid air and caused things to vibrate around them. There was a few seconds where Rachel pushed back and then slammed into the body of her enemy. There was a loud crack as she flew against the wall.

"Got it," Rachel breathed but she was nailed with a bolt of energy that caused her clothes to be shredded entirely. She stood there, with a few strands of clothing that wrapped around her breasts and lower half of her body.

The half demon dropped to one knee as she ate another hex bolt to the face.

"Heads up!" Laura commented as she dodged a fireball and claw girl got nailed hard in the chest.

The girl crashed hard into the closest wall, then slide slowly to the ground. Her ribs were broken and exposed but her body was slowly healing over despite the skin and muscle having been burned off.

"Oh, that's not…."

Rachel was interrupted by the witch in scarlet robes as she dodged her latest attack. This was followed up two bolts of energy from each woman that connected in midair and bounced off in opposite directions, and the two of them continued to fire magical attacks at the other as their fight continued.

There was a rattling sound, as Rachel opened up a portal then grabbed the girl by the shoulders, before hurling her towards it.

There was a loud scream on the other side as the witch in scarlet was thrown from the portal. She landed on her face and Rachel levitated a section of fence and wrapped it around her. She struggled to free herself but there was no way out of this fence. She struggled as the barbs cut into her body.

The street was turned into molten rock, not that it would hurt Harry but it would hurt other people. He knew what he had to do. He hated to hurt his daughter like this but he took some solitude that this was going to hurt him a lot more than it hurts Claire.

He pulled an ice pellet out of his robes and tossed it into the air.

"You think…."

The ice molded around her, causing her to scream. He knew that this would not hold her for long and Laura who was hovering in the air had a collar on her, an inhibitor collar. Claire was cooled down enough to slap the collar around her neck and hopefully they could help her further.

There was a clink as the collar was snapped around her neck. The ground cooled around her and Harry caught Claire in his arms as she dropped, fatigued from her powers being suddenly shut off.

The two other girls were also grabbed and Harry was glad that he would be able to get to them in time. They needed to get them back to the Shining Light Foundation.

'_We're rounding up all of the girls, but Granny's flown the coup,' _Karen commented as she showed up, along with various members of the League who could help out.

* * *

Harry thought that tonight could have gone a lot better but it could have gone a lot worse. Frustration coursed through his body. He felt it twist through his stomach.

"So any progress?" Chloe asked as she held two cups of coffee. She handed one to Harry and sat down next to him, sipping on it as she looked at him.

"I wish there was, but I know better," Harry told her as he took the coffee she offered him. "Claire's back home but whether or not she'll be back to normal. We won't know for a couple of days."

"I really hope that you aren't blaming yourself," Chloe offered to him, as Harry looked over his shoulder towards her. "Because, you know that it isn't your fault."

"Maybe," Harry offered her grudgingly. He really wished that he could believe that.

Although to be honest, he was not too happy with Granny at this moment.

"So, I'm sure that you want to know more about our guests?" Hope asked as she showed up to join them. This had been a long week for all of them.

"Yes, that would be nice," Harry offered, he was definitely curious. There was a few seconds for as Hope sat down next to him, and made herself comfortable.

Hope took the drink that she was offered and she sighed.

"The girl in the scarlet robes, her name is Wanda Maximoff, she was better known as the Scarlet Witch, she once caused the world that we were in to be rewritten and in an alternate timeline, I was a result of it" Wanda offered to the woman and there was a few seconds where she paused. "The other girl is Laura Kinney, she was a girl that was created using the DNA of a mutant with a powerful healing factor. He was the best in the world at what he did and what he did was not very nice."

"Of course," Harry commented as he pushed his hair back, he hadn't gotten a chance to wash it in a few days so it was rather greasy. It wasn't Snape bad yet though, he'd slit his wrist before he let it get to that point.

"And they are extremely powerful in their own ways," Hope concluded as she sipped on her drink.

"Of course they are powerful, that's why they would be attractive to Granny," Harry commented as he tapped his fingers on the glass that he had in his hand and shook his head. There was a second where he tried to figure out what he needed to do.

There was a few seconds where the young wizard and Herald of Death realized how deep Darkseid's darkness went.

"He makes it personal," Barda commented as she showed up to join the group. "I don't want to sugarcoat this for you…"

"Then don't," Harry offered her, he was not in the mood to have things sugar coated for him. There was a moment where he closed his eyes and rocked his head back.

"It might be hard to break the conditioning, I barely escaped, and I think that Tess did as well," Barda said.

"Escaped, but not unscathed," Tess agreed as she saw Kara walk in, she looked to be in a zombified state.

Kara sat down next to Harry and he wrapped his arm around her. There were no more words, she hoped that they could get things back to normal .

"Let's not lie, we should….she….actually I don't know what we should have done," Kara offered as she inclined her head a little bit more.

She knew in her heart that they were keeping Claire away from the League for the right reasons, although perhaps they went about it the wrong way. The problem was the Laura thing was completely different and they all knew it. There was some frustration that mounted through their eyes.

"I know, I know," Harry whispered to her soothingly as he stroked his fingers through her blonde locks and pulled her into a tight one armed hug as Kara rested her head on his shoulder. The blonde snuggled into him as she wondered what their next move was going to be. At this point, she didn't know what to think. The blonde was about ready to collapse from exhaustion and she let out a long sigh as she shook her head.

"Yes, well….it's not something that I enjoy reliving," Kara commented as she closed her eyes. There was a sense that she had failed as a mother and that was the worst failure of them all.

Guilt was a very powerful emotion and even a powerful person like Kara, was no less immune to feeling it. The blonde's eyes were shut tight and she offered a labored sigh. Harry's arms wrapped around her even tighter.

"We'll know what's happening soon," Harry told his wife and she nodded.

They would find out soon but the fact was that they didn't know now, was extremely frustrating. The blonde's eyes closed shut as she thought about everything.

There was a twisting knot of her stomach and Harry held her close, playing with her hair as he did so.

"Drink this," Harry told her and Kara took it, she felt a bit more relaxed.

"I wish this was over but I know that this was going to be the beginning of the end," Kara offered and Harry was running his hands down the back of her neck. The blonde's eyes continued to flood over as he stroked the back of her neck and helped her relax a tiny bit more.

Kara really wished that she would have the answers and really wished that they would have a way to save her daughter, not to mention all of those other girls.

Harry knew that if all hope was lost, then Darkseid would have won. He was trying not to lose hope himself.

* * *

Harry was intently going over the records of any reports involving missing girls. Some of them were accounted for, others were not. Of course, Harry thought that there was going to be a few girls that were going to be left unaccounted for in a city the size of Metropolis. He closed his eyes and sighed as frustration swam throughout his body as he kept making his way through everything that he had to do.

'_Okay Potter, try not to lose it,' _Harry thought as he bit down on his lip and flipped through all of the papers he had underneath his thumb. He was getting no closer to figuring out what to do now than he was earlier that day.

"You've been working too hard," Rachel stated bluntly as she showed up and sat herself down on Harry's lap. His office was faintly lit and allowed him to see what he was doing. "And even someone like you, you're going to feel the heat."

"I'm fine," Harry offered causing Rachel to cluck her tongue and shake her head.

"Define the term, fine," Rachel commented as she placed her arms around him.

"Well, fine as in the fact that I have Claire back. The fact that we got a few more of those girls out of Granny's clutches," Harry told the young half demon.

"But you're not fine in the sense….well you're not fine in the sense that he's still out there and as long as he's still out there, you'll never be completely free," Rachel commented to him and Harry looked at her. He placed his hand on his chin and threw his head back, there was a moment where a sigh escaped his lips. "Yes, I can see this."

"Yes, thanks, I'm glad that you can see this," Harry told her.

"You must learn to relax, Harry," Kory said as she entered his office. She was dressed in a tight white top that was nearly fit to burst thanks to her lovely breasts. She wore a tight pair of jean shorts that was about ready to burst thanks to her lovely. She managed to stand there, a least for a little bit, and kept watching Harry.

"Yes, I'm trying to figure that out," Harry commented but Kory worked his shirt off of him immediately, and her breasts pressed against his back. They felt nice and warm pressed against his bare flesh.

He was not going to lie, this was very relaxing. In fact, it was extremely relaxing. He felt her breasts press against his back and there was something about the feel of woman's breasts pressed your upper back that really couldn't be described. That was the sensation that he was feeling right now.

"We can make you relax, Harry," Kory whispered.

Rachel felt her emotions go haywire as they normally did when she was around Harry. Kory's pheromones did not help the matter one bit, in fact she was going to lose herself to the lustful desires soon.

"Why don't you be a good friend and take off his pants?" Kory asked Rachel and Rachel's hands trembled as she tried to unbuckle his pants, although there was a moment where she paused.

"Oh, this is going to be good," Harry commented and Rachel smiled.

It had been too long for her, Rachel was not going to lie. She felt herself succumbing to these really strong emotions and she felt that warmth grow from her head to her toes. She closed her eyes and realized that this was going to be amazing, if she just allowed herself to feel and succumb to everything.

She could succumb to Harry very easily.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends.**

Two wrecked teenage heroines were left in Harry's wake. They would be able to sleep it off although it must have been several days inside the time dilation bubble. He was trying to push himself up to a standing position and he saw a very familiar face standing on the outside.

Galatea was standing there and Harry wondered if she should be up and about. Indy was standing next to her to give him the good news.

"Harry, all traces of what Essex did to her have been purged," Indy informed him.

"Yeah, other than a killer headache," Galatea stated dryly, she was wearing a tight white robe as she looked at Harry with tired eyes. "I'm not sure what he's planning, but I know that I'm not the first, in fact, I'm not the last either."

"What do you mean you're not the first?"

"Essex is very creative with the orders that Harrison gives him," Galatea commented and her eyes started to spark to life with something but she managed to keep from losing all sense of herself. She felt a throbbing pulse through her temples as Harry took her gently by the hand.

"Just calm down, Tea," Harry told her and she nodded.

"Right but….Kara's DNA isn't the only one that they have, they have your DNA, and some of Lex's…."

'_Well that would fulfill one of Lex's secret desires to have a child with Clark,' _Chloe commented.

'_Chloe, I just ate, please don't say such unholy things to me,' _Lois chimed in with a grimace at that thought and she shook her head in an attempt to clear if from her mind.

Harry shook his head but there was another thought that went through his head.

'_Harry, there's someone at the front lobby to see you, she says it's extremely urgent, we don't have much time,' _M'gann commented.

Now Harry was both intrigued and suspicious. Galatea was as well and Indy followed closely behind. The group made their way down the doors to the main lobby. The group quickened their pace as they saw the person standing in the hallway.

She was a young female that looked to be in her early twenties. She had red hair that was tied behind her back and a pair of thick glasses. She had expressive blue eyes and also a bust which her shirt wrapped around. It was about a D-Cup size. She had a flat and toned stomach and long legs, along with a nice ass that was in tight black leather pants.

"Mr. Potter, I'm Doctor Caitlin Fairchild," she told him with a smile on her face. "I'm working for LuthorCorp on a project regarding genetic replication, but I need to tell you that Nathaniel Essex is planning to take it one step too far."

"Did you tell Harrison Luthor?" Harry asked her.

"He's unavailable," Caitlin commented in frustration. She really had no idea where he went which was strange as he always made himself available to his female employees. "Essex plans to switch his mind with one of the clones, it will allow him to side step around the bargain he made with Mr. Luthor."

Harry was not going to lie, now he was intrigued.

**To Be Continued In the Next Chapter.**


	23. Chapter 23: That Saga with Clones Part I

**Chapter Twenty Three: The Saga of Clones Part One.**

"So, he's up to no good," Harry offered in a tense voice and it was hard to say who he was referring to at this point in time. He could be referring to any number of people.

"Well, Dr. Essex is. I'm not sure about Mr. Luthor," Cailtin commented as she folded her arms and watched him. She'd actually been hired by LuthorCorp before the merger, although she never got a chance to work with Miss Mercer or Mr. Potter. "No offense, but the two of you could be twins. Are you sure you're not his clone or he's not your clone?"

Harry didn't even bother to respond to that. He was trying to rack his brain, trying to figure out a reason why Harrison would have dove out of everything. The young wizard closed his eyes.

"I didn't offend you. did I?" Caitlin asked nervously.

"No, he's just deep in thought, he's trying to figure out what the master chess master is up to," Indy commented and Harry smiled.

Playing chess with himself was never a good thing, though he thought that Alex was bad last year. However, Alex was nothing compared to Harrison. There was a sense that he was playing the game on an entirely different level and Harry was not really happy about it. The young wizard looked at both females.

"If I know him, he's created some sort of fail safe to keep Essex inline," Harry commented, although he was surprised that Harrison would go underground now of all times.

Which was very much to do to the fact that he figured Harrison was the type of person that he liked to keep a personal eye on most of his projects, but that was just him. He shook his head.

"So what are we going to do?" M'gann commented and Harry smiled.

Harry contemplated every angle of this problem, from Essex's to Harrison's. His green eyes flashed for a second as he pondered everything and he thought that it was a pretty good question. It just was a question that he wished he had better answers to because he felt like a hamster running in circles on it's wheel.

"I was one of many," Galatea stated as she looked towards him. The blonde still felt a ringing through her head, although it subsided more and more as time went on. "And Essex said that there was a far greater scheme at hand than I could see."

"Yes, of course," Harry commented, he wanted to slap his fist into the palm of his hand. Why create one girl clone, when you could create several, no one ever did things in ones.

The wizard pushed his hair back out of his face and decided to try something.

"The Shining Light Computer may still have a backdoor to LuthorCorp," Harry told the girls and they all watched him as he prepared his next move. "Of course, whether or not he removed it, or just made it more difficult for me to access it, while still leaving it in play, I don't know. I'm going to have to see for myself."

Harry brought up a holographic interface and began tapping away at it. He hoped that he would be able to break through to LuthorCorp security and find his way through to the database. Or if this was just going to induce a nice little headache but the Herald of Death could not figure out what precisely was going on until he tried.

He chewed down on his tongue as he tried to crack the system. He tapped away at the interface to the Shining Light Computer Network and tried with every trick he knew and some that he had never tried to crack through to the LuthorCorp system.

"Hello Harry. I'm sure you're trying to break into my computers for some reason. I don't know why exactly, and there probably isn't a good reason why you're trying to do so," a holographic recording of Harrison said as it flashed to life. There was a second where it paused before continuing. "But naturally, if you can find a way in, than the information is yours."

"Please move," Indy commented, she enjoyed a challenge.

There was so much about the LuthorCorp computers that changed since she's last accessed them. Indy bit down on her lower lip as she prepared to break on through. She closed her eyes and placed her hands on the console.

So far, there was no luck. There was a sense that Harrison was dicking her and everyone else around and there was no real way in.

"So far, no good," Indy commented as she ran her fingers down the edge of the console but she was using every hacker trick that she knew and she knew a lot. And yet she could not get in.

She had to admit, this was the most complex system that she ever saw, and that was really amazing given how many she saw.

"I'm almost in, just give me a couple of minutes," Indy told him and she felt there was a bead of sweat rolling down her face but she closed her eyes.

She was getting closer to getting through. She just about had it. There was a half of a second where she got it when she booted out.

"Damn," Indy swore as she was back to square one, not that she got anywhere to begin with.

"We're not getting anywhere, the longer we wait. The longer Essex is going to have to carry out his mad plan and there's no telling what Harrison is up to," Galatea said and then she turned around towards the redhead. "Do you have any idea what he's up to?"

"No, I don't. Sorry, I was just commissioned to work on the project. I thought it was a project to allow women who were incapable of having children to have them," Caitlin offered in an apologetic voice.

Harry was intrigued by this. If Harrison told Caitlin this then it was probably true. He wasn't one to lie for the sake of it although there was likely some ulterior motive in play. So the true person that he had to worry about now was not Harrison, it was Essex. He could see that he still had designs of getting his hands on the Phoenix Force. The wizard's eyes flashed for a second and he knew that they would have to go straight to the source. This was going to be a problem but once again, they had to do what needed to be done.

"Tea, tell me what you can remember, Caitlin, please tell me everything that you know," Harry commented to her and the girl looked nervous but nodded.

Stopping whatever Essex was up to was far more serious than any trouble they would get into from breaking into LuthorCorp.

* * *

Harry made his way to the main LuthorCorp facility, which he suspected would be the easiest place to find the information he was seeking. On one hand, perhaps that was why the information would not be readily available here. If Harrison Luthor removed it from the building, he would never find it.

After all, the main LuthorCorp facility would be the most obvious place out there to look but then again that could be the swerve. Perhaps Harrison was banking on him looking elsewhere, thinking that he would think that the most obvious place would be less obvious. Therefore, he would not hit this place, even though it would be the place that he was looking for.

Mental chess was fun and utterly confusing at the same time. It also proved to Harry that even though he liked to say that he wasn't, he truly was utterly and completely paranoid. Oh well, at least he could take comfort in the fact he still wasn't as bad as Batman was.

The emerald eyed Herald of Death shook his head and tried to return himself back to some level of sanity. Trying to outsmart himself, no matter what the circumstances was something that was bound to give him a headache.

It was like playing chess with a duplicate who had been trained different. While Harry liked to think that he picked up a few things from Albus Dumbledore over the years, Lionel Luthor was no slouch at the mental manipulation game either and Harrison was very dangerous because of that.

Harry sighed and tried to punch in an old master access code he'd hope was still active. But it appears that it had been changed as well.

"Here," Cailtin offered as she gently pushed him off to the side while taking his place in front of the console. She had the access codes, at least to an extent.

"The project was most certainly in one of the lower levels of this building as of two days ago," she told Harry and he nodded. He knew full well as did the rest of them, that they might keep moving it.

"You know, it is common courtesy to phone before you turn up for a visit."

Harry turned around and saw Harrison standing in the doorway, a smug look on his face. It was the type of smug look at Harry would have preferred to smack off of the man's face.

"I thought you were gone," Harry commented.

"The urgent business that I left to attend to wasn't that urgent at all," Harrison said to him. "I congratulate you on retrieving your daughter. You might want to keep a better eye on her in the future and not keep things from her. She did act exactly the way you might have at that age."

Harry ignored this cutting remark.

"So, how's your pet mad scientist doing these days?" Harry asked Harrison and there was a few seconds where both stared the other down.

"I hope you're not implying that I have anything to do with what Essex might be up to that brought you running here," Harrison commented and Harry's eyes locked onto his. "You are, aren't you?"

"I am," Harry said firmly but as much as he didn't back down, neither did Harrison. "I know you have him on a leash."

"Yes, I do," Harrison confirmed, there was no use to lying about this. "The man's dangerous, but he has a brilliant mind. It would be unwise to allow it to go to waste."

"Yes, very unwise," Harry commented, there was an element to his tone that he indicating he didn't approve of the fact that Harrison saved Essex from destruction. "You're building an army…."

"You're being insanely paranoid. Again. That's not a good thing, people might think that you're losing your mind. Again," Harrison offered conversationally.

Harry locked his eyes towards his double, he was trying to keep himself calm but it was borderline difficult.

"So what are you doing here?" Harrison asked him.

"Your clone project and your puppet, I believe that we've established this one," Harry commented as he locked his emerald green eyes onto the identical emerald green eyes of his double. Both of them continued to stare each other down.

Gwen appeared at the door and her mouth hung open. She had not seen these two standing nose to nose before so it was something that was rather alarming. The blonde's eyes flashed open and shut as she watched both of them. There was one statement that went through her mind over and over again.

'_Creepy, very creepy,' _Gwen thought to herself as she ran her fingers through the top of her hair. She felt her heart beat a bit faster but then she shook her head to clear it. ?Naturally she had heard the recent situation the two of them dealt with.

"Come in and you'll see that I have nothing to hide," Harrison stated as he offered Harry a smile, even though Harry was not smiling back. He was even happier with the fact that he was not exposed to the Wizarding World for a prolonged period of time. While he was at Harvard getting his Doctorate with his own version of Tess and nailing Co-Eds, apparently it was doing long term mental damage to him. Merging with Jor-El's spawn didn't do Harry many favors either. In fact as far Harrison could tell it had actually made him less intelligent by half.

"What reason do you have to clone someone?" Harry asked him once again.

"It's an easy way to determine how certain DNA strands work and correct certain wrongs," Harrison commented as he turned around and he kept his words extremely vague. He took another step forward and lead Harry, Caitlin, and Galatea inside. Gwen attempted to follow along as well but Harrison cut her off at the pass.

"Gwen, do me a favor and put this in my office," Harrison commented as he handed her the file he'd been carrying.

There was a rumbling beneath the ground that came from underneath them. Harrison tried to look calm.

"Is there a problem?" Harry asked him and after a moment of consideration, Harrison shook his head. He felt his heart beating even quicker in his chest, but he ignored it and kept walking forward.

There was something coming from the lab.

'_Locate Essex,' _Harrison commented to himself but there was nothing.

Something was blocking his ability to track him down. It was temporary and Harrison was sure that he could get his hands on Essex, given sufficient time. However, it was time where Essex could plot and scheme.

There was a thump, thump, thump, and another thump that took place on the other side of one of the main laws.

A series of demonic and ghastly looking blondes showed up. They resembled Kara, although they were rapidly degenerating.

"These most be the prototypes," Galatea breathed in and out and she was about ready to crack her knuckles. She thought she was the original, but obviously Essex went through a few failed experiments first that he must have kept from Harrison and was keeping them around from a rainy day.

"Yes, they must be," Harry agreed as he looked at them and there was a sense that they were losing their minds.

"This wasn't part of the project," Caitlin breathed out as she dodged the attacks and blocked a punch form another with a surprising amount of strength, before punching her back. Her body broke into dust the moment it hit the wall.

"No, it wasn't," Harrison agreed.

* * *

Essex smiled, he knew that his little gambit wouldn't last forever. In fact, he was pretty certain that it would only last for a couple of moments. He needed to ensure that the person funding his project wasn't going to find him before it was too late.

He saw the person on the other side of the glass tank, her image was beautiful and it was also extremely powerful. She had vibrant blue eyes. She had short hair, black, and parted. She had modest breasts, along with a smooth stomach, delicious hips, and nice long legs that stretched for miles. Essex looked over the woman with a smile on his face, one that got deeper, even more sadistic. He traced his finger on the outside of the pod and his smile got even wider. There was one word that popped from his mouth as he kept studying the person.

"Delicious."

Essex felt that statement accurately described the person on the other side of the tank. She was actually the second version of this one. The combined DNA of Har-Rell, Lex Luthor, and Bruce Wayne would make for a pretty interesting specimen. This girl right there, combined with his superior intellect, it would make him invincible.

He continued analyzing his project with a hungry expression on his face. He ran his hand over it and couldn't help but comment again on it.

"Beautiful," Essex offered as he tapped his hand on the side of the chamber.

"You know, you're going to be taken down."

Essex turned around and saw the young woman standing in the shadows. His smile cracked over his face and there was a few seconds where he paused. He saw Helena Wayne standing there, she was dressed in a nice green top, with a purple skirt that showed her dazzling legs and knee high boots. She had dark hair and bright blue eyes that stared back at him.

"Miss Wayne, can I help you?"

"The boss will not be pleased that you've been trying to cheat him," Helena commented to him as she stepped forward towards him holding a .44 Magnum pointed at him. Unlike her father, she had no concerns about wielding a gun, even when she was in her normal persona.

"Are you going to shoot me? I thought you'd be more sophisticated than that," Essex asked and the girl's eyes burned into him in a simmering gaze of hatred.

"No, not going to shoot you, even though it's tempting to blast you between the eyes," Helena commented as she held the gun on him. Essex had stared down death before so he was confident that he was going to survive. "Although if you don't cooperate with me, you'll find you'll lacking a head."

"I was under the assumption that Mr. Luthor wished that I be left alive," Essex stated and Helena offered him a smile. Her smile was very nearly like a Cheshire cat grin.

"Well, he understands that sometimes the plan changes," Helena commented as her narrowed blue eyes burned a look of hatred into Essex's face. If she had heat vision, she would fry him to a crisp although she was tempted to do it even without the usage of heat vision. She kept the gun pointed at him.

"Are you going to shoot me, Miss Wayne?" Essex asked her, almost taunting her, tormenting her, trying to bait her. "She who hestitates is lost."

He nailed her with a psychic attack which caused her head to be cracked open. Blood poured from the side of her head.

Helena's eyes closed as she saw the blood on her. She was not hurt, in fact she started laughing. She was really laughing, really loudly and the fact was her laughter was extremely unsettling. There was a few seconds where Essex wondered what he himself into it.

"You….you….you shouldn't have done that," Helena giggled like a crazed hyena and she grabbed him around the throat and shook him like a ragdoll. "YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT!"

There was another loud round of laughter that echoed forth from her mouth as she strangled Sinister against the wall. There was a loud crash as she tried to choke him out.

"YOU….SHOULDN'T….HAVE….DONE….THAT!" Helena yelled as her pupils dilated and she smashed Essex's head into the wall. She was mostly mild mannered until she saw the sight of her own blood, and right now warm fluid was dripping down the side of her face. She kicked her enemy right in the chest.

Essex found himself being choked out by this woman, thanks to enhancements she'd preformed on herself, she was incredibly strong. She kneed him in the crotch but there was something that busted open behind her. The laughter was escalating as she felt her blood splashing down the side of her face and she kept nailing him hard as she could. She cracked her knee into his head hard causing a loud crunch to echo.

Blood oozed from the side of his mouth as blood poured from the side of her head.

Glowing eyes flashed from behind the tube and Helena turned around.

"You let her out…."

Helena was grabbed around the throat by the crazed and feral clone. She was hoisted up and choke slammed hard onto a glass table in the lab. The shattering glass injured her badly but she survived.

"Yes, that's it my pet," Essex commented but she looked at him, her eyes glowing. "Yes, that's…NO, NO, NO!"

A blast of golden energy shot from her eyes and burned Essex through the chest. He fell back into a table of chemicals which burned him even more severely.

She turned around and nearly dropped to one knee. She saw the guards making their way to sedate her.

"No, you're not going to take me out," she managed as she grabbed a pair of cattle prods and shoved it through the chest of her enemies with her super strength.

The violent memories of Lex Luthor overwhelmed her as she stabbed the guards through the chest. She then activated the prods electrocuting the guards before throwing them backwards.

The clone was going into a feral rage as she tried to dig her fingers into her eyeballs.

More security guards rushed forward but she managed to access her telekinetic abilities and block the attacks. She slammed them up into the ceiling then drove them down into the ground. There was a huge scream of agony as the guards crumpled up like sheets of paper.

* * *

Kara and Karen showed up just in time to see the army of feral and degenerating clones that went for Harry and Harrison.

'_Of course, only from his depraved mind, he would bring to life these abominations,' _Karen commented and there was a sense that these things could not leave the labs, for they were unstable.

Kara got the message loud and clear, she put her hands on her hips, squinted her eyes, and fired heat vision at the ground.

The ground heated up and it melted, causing it to become sticky and hold the clones in place, as Laura showed up to join them.

They were looking at the twisted and demented versions of themselves. It was a horrific thought to see all of them going up against each other. Laura pulled a face, but Kara used her ice breath to freeze them so they could not move forward.

"What did you do?" Karen asked but there was another figure that burst from the floor before Harrison could answer. The blonde was not having the best day in the world and she heard the humming in her ears.

These clones were not completely baked or improperly. Kara found this out when she punched the head of one of the clone's cleanly off.

There was another dark figure who dropped down onto the ground before them. Karen got a good look at her and she couldn't help but blink. She could not believe it, in fact she was trying to shake her head in hopes that it would dispel the young woman before her. It was almost like looking through a fun house mirror although there were more than a few differences.

For one, this girl had dark hair and she placed her hands on her hips as she stared Karen down. Her eyes were more of a greenish tint instead of a bright blue, although it was perhaps greenish-blue as opposed to a green-green. She had the same large breasts, tight ass, and long legs, her hair was short as well, although black.

"Hello, sister," the girl commented to Karen.

Karen naturally jumped through the wrong conclusion and she nailed her doppleganger in the face hard with a right hook.

'_Okay, overreacting much,' _Kara commented, managing to hold her older counterpart back and calming her down before she caused a further scene.

'_You try to….I wonder what his game is,' _Karen thought in a tone that indicated that she was trying to not to start fuming, although it was very hard for her not to do so. The blonde's eyes closed shut as she offered a long labored breath. There was a twisting knot that turned in her stomach and the blonde was this close to jumping on him.

"That was expected," the woman commented as she rubbed her sore jaw but she managed to blast the degenerating clones back, whatever was left of them with a huge punch to the side of the head.

"Yes, you expected that, but I didn't expect to see someone try and clone me. Why did you clone me?" Karen demanded as she turned towards Harrison.

"Karen, please be calm," Harry told his wife and she managed to close her eyes and hitch in her breath. Somehow she remained clam even though she was heavily inclined to take Harrison around the throat and rip his head clean off. Kara held her back as well.

"Okay, I'm calm," Karen offered as the young woman was grabbed around the arms by both Kara and Harry. "Seriously, Harry, I'm calm."

Harry's smile was something that could not be beaten by any means and he held his wife into him quickly. Kara stepped to the side although she was ready to step in after a moments instant. "Are you sure that you're fine, I mean we could…."

"Yes, Harry, I'm fine," Karen offered him as she out a long sigh but she kept her eyes locked on this clone of herself. She was trying to figure out what she could make of her and she was not liking a lot about what happened.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked and Karen nodded.

"Do, I look unsure?" Karen asked him and Harry offered his third wife a smile as he pulled her in.

"So, I suspect that an explanation might be in order," Harrison offered dryly and the eyes of Harry and the three blonde Kryptonians were on him.

"Yeah, that would be wise," Kara commented as she offered him an cool expression. She did not have the baggage with Harrison that Karen did so she was willing to give him a chance without ripping his head off.

That being said, she was not being stupid about it.

"You believe what you were allowed to believe regarding what happened," Harrison offered to Karen but this was the wrong thing to say to her.

"Yeah, right, more of your crap, like I'd believe that!" Karen yelled hotly. "After what you did to Kal…."

"Oh, that….well that's an interesting story, because you're acting like I ran a girl scout over with a golf cart. Damn they did a number on you," Harrison told the blonde and she watched him through flaring eyes. He remained as calm as could be, despite the fact that he knew she was going to attack him. He kept his focus steady on her. "I hate to break this to you, Kara, but Clark Luthor was no boyscout, he was a psychopath who killed little children for kicks and that was on the days where he was being nice. I only killed him after he butchered every single man, woman and child in Smallville at Lionel's command."

"And like you're perfect…."

"I've never done anything without a good reason…."

"So just because you have a reason it makes you better, you hurt me because I wanted nothing to do with you…."

"Kara, that was Lionel," Harrison stated bluntly then moved at super speed and stuck Karen in the arm with a needle treated with the modified Kryptonite.

Chaos was about to reign after this one little action, now Harry's mind was wondering what he stuck her with and he made a movement towards Harrison.

The fire alarm went off to spare Harrison any counter attack, at least for now, followed by explosions that occurred from the lab that was beneath them.

* * *

A cataclysm of shattered thoughts went through the mind of the young clone who escaped. She somehow made it from Metropolis all the way to Smallville. There was a loud, thump, thump, thump that resounded through her head. It was not easing up any time soon and that meant bad things for her. She was trying to make her way towards where she was going to go, even though she found frustration reigning in through her thoughts and was overwhelmed by shattered memories.

The dark haired woman took another step forward and there was one more though that echoed through her mind. The confusion, thoughts that weren't hers, a patchwork of insanity was causing to freak out and there was this statement that resounded in her head.

'_Who am I?' _she thought as frustration and a little bit of despair mounted as she tried to stay on her feet but her balance was rather hard to keep.

She was staggered a few inches but she managed to stay the course, at least the best that she could. She wasn't just having a headache, in fact, she was having a full blown identity crisis. She could sense a sinister pull that pushed through her mind.

She recalled a familiar place, she collapsed in the middle of the field. The girl ran her hands over the ground and then she closed her eyes. She was sure that this is the place where everything all started although her memories weren't completely there. The young clone saw that there was a patchwork of many fragmented memories and it was hard to put it together. Yet, she guessed what was happening.

All of these memories, they weren't her own. Whose memories were they? There was a sense that everything was coming undone and her sanity was about ready to follow. It was almost like her mind was not able to be stabilized because someone else's was going to placed over this demented tapestry of terror. She felt the light buzzing that resounded in her head.

'_Where am I, who am I?'_

That was a statement that she could not answer with any clarity and the fact that she was not able to answer that, it was kind of freaking her out. She felt the throbbing echo even more as she collapsed to one knee. In her minds eye, she saw a ship crashing in the middle of the field and her breath escaped from her body.

She must have killed them when the lab exploded, they weren't coming after her. They couldn't come after her, she wouldn't let them come after her. Her breathing increased with greater frequency as she closed her eyes and collapsed to the ground again before she valiantly pulled herself back up. She was this close to having a mental break down but she saw a very familiar farm house across the field.

There was a sense of home and she took another step towards it. The dark haired woman took a few steps forward and she was trying to remember everything. There was so much of a pull towards this place. The girl was about fourteen or fifteen years old but she had some extremely simplistic thoughts. She took another couple of steps, nerves racked and rattled her body. Her breath went in and hitched out of her.

'_Just one more step,' _she thought to herself but then there was another flash that jolted her into a horrified state of mind.

'_You won't escape from me,' _Essex breathed. _'Did you really think that I could be killed that easily?'_

'_You can't….no that's not true, no, no, you're dead, you're just an echo in my head,' t_he young clone breathed.

'_You're the perfect specimen, Number Eight,' _the individual commented in a crisp tone as he placed a hand on her shoulders or so it seemed.

There was no one there, which meant that the thoughts from him, it was in her mind, he was in her mind.

'_You'll suffer, I won't….you can't….you can't….YOU CAN'T!' _she screamed at the top of her lungs.

'_Can't I, my dear? I think that I already have,' _Sinister commented with a laughter. His body was mostly destroyed but he had just enough left in him to lure her back here._ 'Number Eight, you know that you were bred for a purpose. I'll have a body, and it will allow me to acquire the Phoenix Force.'_

As he reminded himself, given events that happened in the last world, Darkseid would love nothing better than to get his hands on Essex and make him suffer an eternal torment to end all eternal torments. That was why he was trying to keep one step away ahead of Darkseid.

Lois made her way from the Kent Farm and there was a sense that she was stepping into the den of the lion herself. She held a chunk of green rock behind her back, wondering if this would work.

'_Remember Lois, the clone's unstable,' _Harry thought to her, as he managed to prevent the Chemical Fire from killing anyone else other than the defective clones. Sadly, they were beyond help.

'_Yes, she looks….oh shit she's looking at me,' _Lois commented, she really hoped that the Kryptonite would work.

She went at Lois at super speed and snatched the rock away from her.

"What is this?" the girl asked as her eyes glowed with the hints of heat vision.

"It's really fucking useless all things considered," Lois commented as she managed to dodge the hand but she was fast and strong.

Lois figured that the best thing to do was to dodge the heat vision before it blew her to dust. She fired back with a bit of her own.

'_Great, crazy hormonal teenager girl with Kryptonian powers and without the weakness to Kryptonite, wonderful, can't this day get any better?' _Lois asked and prepared to attack with her own powers.

However another problem presented itself.

The girl was giving off a minor red solar radiation aura which zapped Lois of her powers.

'_I hope you like my modifications, Miss Lane,' _Sinister's voice echoed from afar. _'You will make a perfect specimen for dissection.'_

**To Be Continued in Part Two.**


	24. Chapter 24: Clone Saga Part Two

**Chapter Twenty Four: A Saga With Clones Part Two.**

Lois was not going to lie, she had been in situations that might have been more dangerous than this one. Although, she could not remember them off of the top of her head. Besides, right now the present situation she found herself in, that was far more dangerous at this moment in time. This mysterious girl, well she was pissed and quite dangerous. Not to mention draining Lois's powers by being near her.

"You're going to pay! You're going to learn the true meaning of the word suffering," she stated in a harsh voice as her eyes lit up with fury.

"Yeah….just between the two of us, I'll just look it up in the dictionary, if that's okay with you. Everything will be okay, um okay?" Lois offered in a tense voice but she was not about to be put down that easily. She went for a punch but the girl blocked it, hoisted her up and slammed her down onto the ground with expert precision and skill.

Through her foggy mind, Lois wondered if one word she should have bothered looking up and learning the meaning of was "run". Of course, that was a word where it's meaning did in fact elude her at this point in time, because she most certainly did not run.

Before the girl could smash her skull in or do something worse, a dark haired blur came down from above, scooped Lois up in his arms and swooped her up, up, and away.

"Oh, Harry, your timing is impeccable," Lois commented dryly, she felt her powers slowly return the moment that she got closer to the sun. The aura radiating off of the clone had caused her to become very sluggish as her powers were drained from her.

'_Kara, Karen, you can't go near her for more than a few moments. So make sure to switch out, and box her in, until we figure out what Sinister did to her and how to stop it,' _Harry thought to the other two Heralds that were here with him on this mission.

'_Right,' _Kara commented as she pushed herself towards haired woman.

The clone, Number Eight, closed her eyes. Her heart was beaten rapidly against her chest, as she tried to ignore the sinister tidings in her head.

"I just….I just….LEAVE ME ALONE!" the clone yelled in a harsh voice and she blocked Kara's hand but Kara overpowered her. With sheer determination as she went behind her.

"Just….just...let me help you," Kara commented with a grimace. She was dealing with a hormonal Kryptonian teenager with an aura that drained powers.

"Not….not going to let….no, you can't. You can't help me, you can't help me. You need to get away from me, I could hurt you," she said, she was calming down just a little bit. "I hear his voice….his voice….it's in my head...it won't get out...please help me!"

'_Karen, you're up,' _Kara thought, her instincts telling her that the older blonde was ready. Kara felt the red solar radiation and it ate through the filtering spells that they put on their costumes, which made things all that more frustrating.

'_Okay, gotcha,' _Karen thought, she felt that she was being pushed into a situation where she was not going to get out of that easily but she had to try. The blonde shot herself into the air like a cork from a bottle and then flew, arms outstretched towards the clone.

Karen managed to grab hold of the girl but with a frantic yell she slipped out of it.

'_Yeah, that might have been a mistake,' _Karen thought to herself as she felt her heart pump a little bit more heavily across her chest.

'_You think?' _Chloe asked calmly as she was trying to get things together from her end. _'I've got bad news and worse news.'_

'_Really now?' _Kara asked in an exasperated voice, wondering what Chloe had found out. She dreaded it but at the same time she, figured that she needed to know, even though she might not really like what she found out. '_What's the damage?'_

Chloe offered her a half pained smirk. '_Well her….her powers are unstable. I don't think Essex really knew what he was doing by trying to chain such powers together.'_

'_That much is obvious,' _Karen commented to her and there was a few seconds where she looked at the clone. _'Her powers are becoming more unstable the longer she's underneath the yellow sun, aren't they?'_

'_Yes, Essex was looking for a quick fix to get away from Harrison,' _Harry commented as he saw Karen and the girl battle until Karen had to tag out. Laura and Galatea joined, which increased their chances of maybe getting the win. _'Which I figured as much.'_

'_Yes, I know,' _Chloe commented, she knew for a fact Harry would want to save everyone that he could. '_She has telekinesis as well. Which means its going to be a bitch and a half to get the inhibitor collar on her neck long enough to shut her powers down.'_

'_Maybe. Maybe not. We've got to tire and then knock her out, before she goes nuclear,' _Harry thought as he closed his eyes and shook his head to clear the thoughts about a worst case scenario.

'_You will fail, Har-Rell. You have failed on many accounts, but I will be strong and I will annihilate you,' _the voice of Essex commented.

Harry smiled, he was just going to let Essex run off at the mouth. He was broadcasting his location to him and making it all that much easier to allow the wizard to track him down.

'_Just keep running your mouth, Essex,' _Harry thought but then he switched thoughts to Chloe. _'Are you getting this?'_

'_I know, I am. Harrison said to you that we're going to track him down while you deal with crazy clone girl,' _Gwen chimed in rather snarkily over the bond link._ 'I can't believe it was as easy to hack a mental link as he said it was.'_

'_You….you….you…' _Chloe stammered, she was not used to having anyone show her up.

'_What does it matter who puts him down, as long as one of us finds him and puts an end to him?' _Harrison commented quietly, having gotten sick of Chloe repeating herself after the second you.

'_So, you're able to hack into my bond link, good, but let me show you the door,' Harry commented with a cross tone to his voice.'And for the record, Sinister would not need any finding if you hadn't saved his life.'_

'_Details, details,' _Harrison commented in a bored voice.

Harry shook his head, he had to find this clone first and hopefully reason with her. Especially considering that she was partially constructed with his DNA, he felt like he was responsible for her, just a little bit.

* * *

Number Eight hurtled towards the top of the water tower, the young girl's eyes closed tight as she ignored the ringing in her head. She opened her eyes to find herself hanging from the edge of the tower. She didn't know how she got here, but she was guessing that she somehow managed to pull herself up with her telekinetic abilities.

'_Okay, okay, calm down,' _Number Eight thought to herself.

She was trying to calm herself down although she felt something ring in the back of her head. She wondered what was happening to her. She wondered who she was, there were so many personalities that were fighting for dominance. The dark haired woman felt her heart skip a couple more beats as she tried to hold onto the edge of the tower.

'_Okay, focus, focus, don't fall….don't fall down,' _she commented as she pushed her head back.

There was a thump that echoed against her cranium.

Number Eight turned around and saw the emerald eyes in front of her, along with the memories that came alongside them, there were some incredible confusing memories that came to her when she took them in. It was as if there were two different timelines that she was trying to reconcile in her head as she hung over the edge of the water tower.

"You're trying to figure out who you are, but you're losing sense of who you could be," Harry commented quietly and she looked over her shoulder at him. "Trust me when I've say that I've been down that road, many of us have been down that road."

"I was not…."

"I was like this once. I didn't know who I was. Who I was supposed to be. People keep pulling me in different directions, trying to make me be what they thought I should be," Harry offered gently with a smile towards her as the two of them watched each other. She turned away, looking down at the ground and she got an extremely queasy sensation that burned through the pit of her stomach. There was a ticking sound in the back of her head as she felt her stomach twist a little bit, like a knife had gotten plunged into it extremely hard.

"You were….you were," Number Eight stammered as she lifted a hand up to massage her temples. Of course he knew it, she should have knew that he knew it as well. She lowered her head, half in shame and shook it.

She sighed.

"I don't know what I want to do now, he's going to come after me, I can feel him, he's trying to sneak into my head," she commented as she felt a headache rise onto her temples and there was a light laughter that echoed in her ears.

"No he won't," Harry stated with finality as he put an arm around her and she closed her eyes. "Trust me."

She looked at him, disbelief swimming through her eyes.

"How are you not….how are you not being effected, by….well you know my powers?" she asked him and Harry offered her a hint of a smile, a shadow of a grim grin.

"That really is the mystery of the matter, isn't it?" he asked her and there was a sense that both of them came to an understanding that there were certain things that were never meant to be understood.

"So you're…of course, of course," Number Eight commented as she took in her surroundings. "I can't fly yet."

"You will," Harry told her with a smile on his face as he kept watch for Essex, but so far he was a no show.

'_Anything on Essex?' _Harry thought to Kara and Karen._ 'He hasn't made his move yet, has he?'_

'_No, it hasn't,' _Kara commented as she crossed her arms as she hovered above the ground._ 'This is starting to get tense.'_

'_That's what he wants it to be like, he wants to make things tense,' _Harry mused calmly._ 'We've just got to wait for him. He's going to slip out and he's going come here.'_

'_Sooner than we think,' _Chloe commented and she offered a lengthy sigh as she continued to utilize the Shining Light Foundation computer. _'Essex may have cloned himself to throw us off of the trail as well.'_

'_I wouldn't put it past him,' _Kara commented to them and that was a statement that was completely agreed on by all.

There was a loud ringing sound that Harry barely heard but Number Eight was hit really hard by it. She screamed as she heard something crack against the back of her head.

"Oh….no….he's coming!" Number Eight yelled as Harry wrapped his arms around her in tight grip and tried to force her to calm down, pulling her in close to him.

"Calm down, calm down, please, don't…."

There was a second where she tried to leap off of the water tower, losing all sense of herself. It was something, anything to allow the ringing that went into the side of her head even if it meant the end of her.

There was a second where she paused seeming to go completely still before with a surprising show of strength she broke free from his hold and leaped off of the water tower, having lost all sense of herself. It was something, anything to stop the ringing that was going on inside of her head even if it meant she died in the process.

Harry seeing her fall towards the ground was able to react rather quickly. He launched himself off the tower in a dive and grabbed her, catching her in mid-air. Harry held her close to him in his arms and flew all the way down to the ground in an instant.

Harry landed effortlessly on the ground, then checked her over carefully for any injuries as the young woman let a few careful breaths in and out, closing her eyes in the process as she attempted to calm down.

"You should have let me, you should have….."

The next thing Harry knew he was flying up, up and away and not of his own accord.

'_Hope, you're on!' _Harry yelled to the young girl.

'_Got it,' _Hope offered in a tense voice, there was a moment where she wondered if her own telekinetic abilities were going to be enough to take down this woman. She closed her eyes, there was no thinking about it. She was going to have to swoop in and do, no matter what the cost.

She caught both of them in her telekinetic grip then used a mental probe.

'_Hello, Hope, don't think I've forgotten about you,' _Essex commented with a seductive tone to his voice that made her feel dirty, as she pushed her way into Number Eight's mind.

'_No, you're nothing, nothing, do you hear me, NOTHING!'_

She managed to push him out of her head, it was not easy but she did it. Her head pounded in a fierce drumbeat as her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head. However, much to her pleasure, she was about to drive this madman out of his victims head.

Number Eight fell down to the ground but her eyes were glowing a deep red. The young wizard dropped down next to her, the green eyes of the Herald of Death went really wide but he then narrowed them. He felt the energy that was screwing with his head now and he heard Essex thunderous laugh as he moved forward.

He was a smoldering shell but he was pretty much standing there and Harry stood across from him. The wind blew in their faces.

There was going to be a fight.

"You have my body, Har-Rell," Essex commented as he raised a hand and sent a blast of red energy at him but Harry dodged it and then returned fire with a green light which he ducked. "And I want it, now."

* * *

Somehow Harry knew that this was going to be the fight to end all fights, or at least he was going to fight like it was. In a lot of ways it was just another Tuesday. The young wizard pushed himself up into the air and proceeded to nail Essex in the face with a huge punch that rattled every single one of the teeth in his jaw.

Two silver orbs were flung outward from under his sleeve but Essex used a shield to block. There was a brief high pitched whine that was followed by a huge explosion and Harry waited for him to go down. Unfortunately it wasn't going to be that easy.

'_Okay, that didn't work as well as I thought it would, but that's no problem. I just really need to figure out….yeah this isn't going to end that well, as long as I prevent him from putting his mental patterns into the body, I can defeat him,' _Harry commented as he ran forward and slammed another silver orb into Essex's chest. Causing him to be lit up like he was a Christmas tree as two hundred thousand volts arced throughout his body.

Sinister gave a huge scream then Kara and Karen flew down and used their heat vision to cause him even further pain. The double team assault caused him to crash down hard to his knees. A burning sensation spread through his body as he caught fire and directly in front of him Harry winded up for the grand slam.

His punch smashed Sinister so hard in the face he knocked the teeth out of his jaw and sent him flying backwards. Blood dripping from his broken mouth and his skin burned nearly to a crisp. His healing factor choose that minute to kick in and he grabbed Harry by the wrist.

Sinister flew back, blood dripping from his mouth and his skin burned. His healing factor kicked on and he grabbed Harry by the wrist.

Harry pulled backwards on Essex arm bringing him into a clothesline that sent him flying back and then bouncing along the ground due to the force. He threw a few more spiked orbs just to be thorough though Essex was able to block them with a shield.

"This grows tiring!" Essex growled as his eyes flashed in rage and Harry offered a brief hint of a smile as he stared down his enemy.

"That's something that both of us agree on," Harry commented as he watched Essex and the two of them locked their eyes onto each other in a brief staredown before Harry reached forward and closed his hand around his throat. With the chokehold applied, Harry rammed him back first into the closest fence.

Essex was trying to blast Harry away with an optic blast, only for him to sprung up into the air dodging it completely. As his he came back down he aimed a thunderous punch at Essex, who slid back at the last second causing Harry's fist to slam into the ground instead.

"Don't you think that you should give up."

"Not now. Not ever," Harry commented as he raised his hands into the air and smashed his arms into the top of the head of his enemy. There was a huge thunderous crack as Essex flew backwards.

Hope used her telekinetic powers to force him into the Earth. His bones crunched and that was a sickening sound of more bones cracking, along with his spine. Hope's hearing picked up as she inclined her head back a little bit.

'_Okay, got to focus, got to do this, I can so do this, totally,' _Hope commented as she closed her eyes and she pushed another attack at Essex.

'_Your body will be perfect, with the Phoenix….'_

Hope's eyes closed and the Phoenix Force shot out, nailing Essex right in the chest with a molten blast of white hot flame.

Her hands glowed as the power caused everyone in a certain radius to feel the heat. She opened her hands and then closed them, her mind going completely wild and she saw Sinister down on the ground before most of his chest cavity gone from the heat of the flames. Dark blood oozed from his mouth as he started to cough and he tried to pull himself up.

He was not in a good mood.

"The future! The future is mine! It will be mine, I won't…the power it will be mine! There is nothing that will stop me, not now, not ever!" Essex howled as he was summoning all of the remaining power that he could, he struggled to hold himself together. There was a warm splashing of blood that spilled from his mouth as he tried to get back up onto his feet. He felt his bones cracking and snapping.

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Harry asked Essex and his instincts told him that his next move would be a desperate, last ditch attempt to beat him.

"I didn't….I won't….I can't…."

Harry sent several flaming spikes at Essex which slammed into his body, ripping it to shreds. He conjured an energy scythe and twirled it in his hand.

"Your future is over, and you will fall just like that," he commented as he held the energy weapon in his hand, twirling it, preparing to split open the head of his enemy.

"You aren't going to take me down, do not…."

"I believe I'm done hearing your plans, and your voice, both of which are annoying me," Harry commented as he swung the energy scythe down and he slammed it down onto Essex's head, tearing his form into nothingness, along with his soul and the result of which was a loud and blood curdling shriek.

His soul appeared to be banished off into nothingness.

Number Eight dropped to the ground, and Hope, Galatea, Laura, Kara, and Karen all looked to be in various states of dishevelment. The group looked at each other wearily and there was a long amount of silence as they each caught their breath.

"Well that was….yeah," Galatea commented as looked at the young clone Harry held in his arms. "Is she…."

"No, she's….well we can save her, although her breathing is faint," Harry commented as he cradled his female double in his arms, albeit it was a younger, teenage clone. He still had to worry about what Harrison was up to and what he injected Karen with, but Number Eight was a higher priority.

"We're going to have to get you checked out as well," Kara told Karen with a frown.

"That goes without saying," Karen commented as she folded her arms underneath her chest and she sighed. There was something about what Harrison injected her with, it didn't have any sudden side effects but just because it was not having any side effects right now, it did not really mean that there were not going to be a lot of side effects in the future.

Harry smiled as he prepared to head back to the Shining Light Foundation, he was pretty sure that Nathaniel Essex as he knew it was pretty much gone and it was not a moment too soon, that's something that he had to smile about.

* * *

"So, how do I check out?" Karen asked as she blinked and there were a few scans that she went through as she sat in the Shining Light Foundation infirmary. The blonde Kryptonian tried not to squirm but it was hard to keep herself in check.

Harry held up a hand and Karen nodded her head, remaining extremely calm.

"Is this…."

"In a minute, honey," Harry told her, he kept himself calm, he had to check and double check. He knew that there was no way that the readings should or would have come out this clean, especially after the battery of tests that Karen had been put through.

Karen sat extremely rigid and her heart skipped a half of a beat. She was trying not to lose her shit. She would say that not knowing was worse than knowing the worse. She closed her eyes and wondered what Harrison did to her. She felt perfectly fine and that fact was freaking her out a tiny bit.

"In a second. I'll have everything done in a second, I swear," Harry told the blonde and she nodded.

"Take all of the time that you need," Karen commented, she really wanted to know for sure.

"Just sit there and I'll be with you in a second," Harry told the young blonde and she nodded as he walked over into the next room.

Indy was waiting for him and the redhead bit down on her lip.

"So, is that good news or bad news?" Harry asked her.

"Well it depends on your perspective," she commented in a calm tone but she placed her hands on the clipboard. "Your double….she's responding well. There's no trace that Essex left anything behind."

"And thank RAO for small favors," Harry commented.

"Yes, indeed," Indy agreed, they had more than enough to deal with. "So Essex….he's gone, isn't he?"

"As we know him, yes," Harry commented as he turned around. The Harrison situation was interesting in the sense that he did help in some respects but gave him a headache in the others.

"Doctor Fairchild was rather helpful in helping me determine whether or not she was infected by anything," Indy commented and she smiled at Harry in spite of herself. They were going to keep her around, if she had not declined the job offer to them. Also she handed her resignation in to LuthorCorp and decided to skip town last night. Where she would end up, only the future would tell. "Clone degeneration, it's not a good thing, is it?"

"No, it's not," Harry agreed as he brushed his hair out of his eyes and looked out the window. There was no question about it, if things had gone much worse….well it would have gone to pretty much the same level that everything else did as of late.

"And she's completely clean, although we must run a couple more tests to ensure, if you don't…."

"No, I don't mind, we can't leave any doubts," Harry commented. Claire was still sleeping off of the effects of what happened to her. The tests had been quite rigorous and Harry hoped that when she woke up, she would be mostly the same, although he dreaded the fact that she might not be.

He hoped that things would be fine, but there was this sense that this was the calm before an even greater storm. He was checking out all of the spots it was believed Granny was snatching young girls up from. Orphanages that were hard up that Harry thought might take a little money in their attempt to get something, anything.

'_People are desperate,' _Harry thought to himself as he prepared himself for his next move, even though he knew that the entire Chessboard was going to be turned upside down and perhaps set completely on fire. If he was completely honest with himself there were times where he felt like he wasn't even a player in the game.

"Clean bill of health for me as well, and the ringing has stopped," Galatea commented as she closed her eyes. "Good to see Essex going up in flames, after what that bastard did to me, he got off a bit light but I think that I'm not going to complain."

"So, do you think that we've seen the last of him?" Hope commented as she turned up and watched the man who resembled her father but as she reminded herself, was extremely different.

"I can never say if we've seen the last of someone," Harry commented. There were times where those expectations were….well they were rather dashed in many ways and often destroyed in many others.

That was something that they were going to figure out in due time.

"So, I'll go visit Claire….to see if she's awake or not," Hope commented, she figured that since they were technically sisters, they should bond.

"Are you going to tell Claire about what the test revealed?" Kara asked to Harry quietly.

"I know, I was shocked….I'm trying to figure out who did such a thing, but the Department of Mysteries did have access to my DNA for a long time, when they held me captive," Harry commented and he closed his eyes.

"Who is the mother?" Kara asked him and Harry shrugged.

"Don't know, the point is moot right now I guess, likely the female Muggle that they co-opted for the experiment and then wiped her mind after the child was delivered," Harry suspected, although that was a shot in the dark.

He had suspected this regarding Claire's parentage for years, the official records of the Seltons looked too clean, too fabricated. In fact, Harry could only begin to figure out what happened.

'_Speaking of tests,' _Harry thought to himself as he snapped his fingers and looked over to his rather well endowed wife who'd been sitting there patiently all the while.

"Karen, honey, I don't know how to break this to you…."

"Then just do it already, please," Karen commented to him as she felt a lump rise to her throat and she clenched her hands together. "Go ahead, I can take the damage, I'm not made of glass."

"Well, you're completely clean, in fact you're healthier than ever," Harry told his wife and he held up the documentation as proof. "Here's your proof if you want to know."

Karen snatched the documentation from him and read over the test results. A smile went over her face and her smile got even wider as she read further down.

She threw her arms around Harry and offered him a passionate kiss, she was so excited. Galatea, Laura, and Kara all stood there and they made sure the doors to this lab were locked to anyone else.

"This calls for a celebration," Karen commented as she reached down his trousers. "And I know that you're up for celebration."

"Oh, you better believe it," Harry breathed as he felt her hand wrap around him and the real fun was about to begin.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends.**

* * *

Nathaniel Essex thought that he was dead once again but his eyes flashed open and his lungs expanded to let in air. There was a sense of something that was thumping in the back of his head. He tried to lift his head up a few feet off of the bed that he was on but he dropped down after a moment due to how weak he felt.

He felt different than he was before.

"So, I suppose that you thought that you could get the better of me," Harrison offered dryly to Essex.

"Yes…." Essex commented but he paused, something was very off about the tone of his voice.

Something was extremely off and he placed a hand to his throat and felt that there was something off in addition to his voice. He was more high pitched, very different, very sensual, very feminine.

"What did you do?" Essex asked in what was more or less a sultry whine and Harrison couldn't help but chuckle.

"You were so gung ho into getting into a new body. Nathaniel or should I say, Natalie?" Harrison commented but he once again chuckled before he continued. "I figured since this is what you wanted, Essex, I was going to give you what you wanted. I figured that since you tried to undermine me, undermine my orders, and nearly screwed up my plans. I would make a few very different….concessions to you."

There was a sense where Essex felt a certain amount of hopelessness spread through his body but his soft female voice made this next statement not as threatening as it could be.

"You'll pay for this."

"Will I?" Harrison asked with a laugh. "Oh, Natalie, Natalie, you are a fool. Aren't you? You thought that this game was something that could be overtaken by you but I hold all the cards. I always hold all the cards. Just think of it like this, you're getting a second lease on life, a second chance to allow yourself to be made into something useful. And a second chance to learn some humility, which you severely lack."

Essex closed his eyes or technically her eyes now.

"Luthor, you bastard…."

"Politeness is something that you need to learn, my dear," Harrison commented as he offered a smile which slowly morphed into a self satisfied grin. "And you will learn it alongside many other virtues as well, along with obedience, and poise. You will be an entirely new woman when your teachers are done with you."

Essex felt something that he or she never felt before and that was fear. She closed her hands together and tried to get herself up to her feet but fell back onto the bed a second or two after.

""Don't you want to see the new you?" Harrison asked in a polite but also extremely mocking tone. He snapped his fingers and there were red curtains that dropped down, revealing mirrors all over the room.

Essex was beside herself, seeing her dark hair flow down her back, it was extremely curly. Her red eyes had a permanent "fuck me" expression etched in them, no matter how hard that she tried to push it out of them. She closed her eyes, them half flickering over her. She had a spiked collar on her neck and fingerless gloves.

She had a large pair of breasts, about E Cup size and the black corset that she was wearing had her breasts about ready to pop out of it. She had a smooth stomach and there was not an inch of fat. She had a plump ass along with deliciously long legs that looked smooth to the touch. Her nipples got extremely hard along with her area between her legs becoming really heated. She had a pair of thigh high boots and an extremely high cut pair of panties that could barely be considered to be a thong let alone underwear that completed the look.

"What did you do to me?" Essex managed but her voice came out in a sensual moan and she felt a desire to have something long and hard fill her.

"I improved you. You won't be thinking of undermining me ever again, especially with that collar on," Harrison commented to her. "I'm sure one day you'll be trained well enough to allow you to remove it but I'm going to ensure that you don't think of any treachery, you're only going to think of one thing, crave only one thing, and I think that we both know what it is, my dear sweet Natalie."

"Oh….you…son…of a bitch," she moaned as she closed her eyes and there was a sense where her hand was about to go between her legs.

"You aren't allowed to touch yourself," Harrison told her and despite her frustration, it proved to be true. Her hands remained at her side, unable to touch herself. "Ladies, I believe I'll let you handle her obedience training from here. I've got a date with Gwen."

Ultrawoman and Fury walked into the room, smiles on their faces as they walked up. Ultrawoman slowly slipped off her boot and revealed her sensual and perfect feet.

"Kiss it, show your mistress your love," Ultrawoman commented and Natalie planted her lips on her soft foot.

"Like you mean it, bitch!" Fury yelled cracking a whip and she had an entire bag full of goodies that would help break in their new toy.

Harrison was such a giving lover, getting them this brand new toy to play with and they would have their fun and try not break it too much.

"That's it, suck on my toes!" Ultrawoman commanded as she practically gagged her new toy with her foot as Fury swung a pair of handcuffs around her finger.

**To Be Continued in the Next Chapter.**


	25. Chapter 25: Price of Freedom

**Chapter 25: Price of Freedom. **

Harry knew that this conversation was inevitable, even though he didn't want to have it. Still, he took a few steps towards hopefully being able to talk to his daughter in a mostly civil manner. The young man made his ways through the hallways of the Shining Light Foundation building. Pausing in front of Claire's door, he braced himself for the potential eruption to come.

The last he heard, as of three days ago, was that Claire was resting but Harry sensed that she was milking this just a little bit. After what she went through, Harry did not blame her for wanting to postpone the inevitable conversation between the two of them. Harry would have done the same thing had the situation been reversed, that much he could say for sure. The wizard took a half of a step forward and decided to be the one to take the plunge.

He looked at the door to her room; Claire had led a rough life, starting with her conception oddly enough. Now Harry was standing on the other side of the door. It was not often that he was struck speechless but there were instances such as this one, where he did not really know what to say.

So, when one does not know what to say, it was best to go out and say it, and worry about the consequences later.

He knocked on the door gently.

"Come in," a tired and reluctant voice said from the other side of the door.

Harry made his way to the room and he saw Claire standing there. Her face was pale and there were black rings underneath her eyes, but she was looking mostly calm. Although Harry saw a haunted look in her eyes that he often saw in his own eyes based on what happened in a past life.

"So, it happened again. I got in over my head, and did something stupid," Claire said to Harry before he said anything. "Guess you and Mom were right, but that doesn't mean that you should keep me out of the loop."

"No, it doesn't, but you shouldn't have been trying to listen at the door like that," Harry told his daughter in a firm voice but she rolled her eyes at him.

"What would you have done at that age?" Claire protested and Harry did not answer which gave Claire all of the information she needed. Harry pressed on.

"Your brain patterns are as they should be, Granny left nothing behind, it appears that the brain washing has been reversed," Harry said.

"I didn't completely go through some what of the girls did, Granny didn't want to break my mind like theirs, because she needed me lucid….I was bait," Claire informed her father and she watched him with imploring eyes. "You know that, right?"

"Yes, I do," Harry said as he leaned towards him. "You remember Hope, don't you?"

"Yeah, I like her. She was here, visiting me pretty much every hour, even the hours that I was out of it," Claire replied with a slight smile. "The Phoenix Force, that's what they're after."

"So you know?" Harry asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"I know far more than you give me credit for," Claire said casually.

"You know far more than you should," Harry corrected her and Claire shrugged.

'_Then again, that's one of the ways that she takes after you,' _Kara told him.

Harry hated when his wife brought up such a good point but that was a good point. Never the less, he had to focus on what was going to be a problematic situation and that was Darkseid's repeated attempts to grab onto the Phoenix Force.

"So Claire…."

"She didn't see that much, however we did."

The girl in the scarlet robes turned up. There was the same haunted look burned into her eyes, but Harry was pretty happy to see that other than that one look, she was in as good of a shape as one could expect given her circumstances.

"Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch…."

"So Hope told you," Wanda interjected, it was hard to look this version of Harry Potter in the eye given what she shared with the version she knew. He was a stabilizing anchor in her life during a time that she really needed one. She was also kind of the reason that he ended up being brought to her reality in the first place as well.

Harry looked her and the other girl, who remained silent. "Yes, she did but…."

"That bitch thinks that she's going to take over," Laura growled as her claws nearly popped and she was hungry to stab her in the throat. "She's going to try and discredit you. Discredit all heroes."

'_In other words, they're going to make another __play at implementing the VRA__,' _Chloe suggested to him lightly. _'It's all over the news and there are demonstrations that are calling for the Justice League…..there have been disasters all over the world, and the League has been….__well they're being blamed for not saving people.__'_

'_For fuck's sake, not this bullshit again,' _Harry growled, feeling he wanted to smash his head into the wall.

'_Do you want me to get your mother on the line….__you technically have...like..three of them, you know? But I mean the one who has Congressional Power and might be able to stall this for as long as possible,' _Chloe advised him.

'_Yes, please,' _Harry said to Chloe graciously. _'Meanwhile, I'm going after Granny, because if I find her, it's going to lead me to Darkseid. And if he's gone, this ends.'_

'_Well, you're going straight for the top but are you sure it's not going to blow up in your face…'_

Harry turned on the news and saw the protests.

"The Justice League should be outlawed, my daughter died in a bombing and where was the League to save her!…"

'_We're heroes, not gods!' _Diana yelled furiously.

'_It's Darkseid's game, he's trying to discredit people, __the VRA didn't go through after multiple failures so he's making one last ditch effort to see that it does__.'_

"I might have an idea where Granny is," Wanda said and Harry slowly rotated on the spot as he turned to face her. He raised an eyebrow and she decided that it was best to elaborate. "She's….well she's holed up somewhere, but I can…..I can bring you there. I remember it, she had Laura and I there for months."

Laura growled in anger which also flashed through her eyes, and caused her claws to pop out with a snikt. "And I need to thank her for that."

She had already been used as a weapon before in her life. To have it happen to her again? Well it was going to be a huge problem between her and whoever did it to her, which she was going to take extremely personally. Now it was time to settle the score and she looked forward to doing so, hopefully by ripping out Granny's throat with her teeth and she hoped that Harry destroyed Darkseid as well. It was his alternate counterpart and Laura's father that fought the hardest but in the end, they were destroyed by the darkness.

* * *

"So, you know how personal this is for me, don't you?"

Harry turned towards the red head who was walking shoulder to shoulder with him. Tess was dressed in a sleek black body suit and ready for action. Harry reached forward and grabbed her hand.

"Yes, I know it's personal. I have to ask though, are you going to be thinking with your head or your heart when you go in there?" Harry asked Tess and she watched him with an unblinking gaze.

"I know what's at stake Harry, I'll be by your side and I've got your back," Tess said firmly but in addition to her powers, she had a few other surprises. She wanted this, there was a part of her that would always be uneasy unless she finished it and settled the issue between herself and Granny Goodness. "The Justice League…."

"The League isn't the issue right now. We need to go to the root of the problem and all roads down that front lead to Darkseid," Harry told her and she nodded. "If we eliminate him, then there's not that much of a problem."

'_Easier said than done,' _Harry thought to himself and he kept those thoughts away from the rest of the bond mates. He was ready for action. He focused his eyes, then used his heat vision to cut the bolts of the lock, which allowed him entrance.

Harry could not help but think that he was walking into the lion's den or maybe a snake pit, potentially both. Yet, no matter what, he had to step in there; he realized that there was far more on the line than he initially thought. It was now or never, do or die for him.

'_Well the moment of truth,' _Harry mused as he made his way down the hallway. It was quiet, too quiet, which never was an ideal situation.

"There's a chance that Granny has moved," Tess commented and Harry looked over his shoulder towards her. She threw up her hands and shrugged. "I know but…."

"I know where you're coming from Tess, and I agree, it's possible, it's very possible," Harry commented as he looked over his shoulder. He heard music, eerie, monotonous music. Again.

'_That rhyme, that rhyme….that's what she's using to brain wash them,' _Harry thought as he raised his eyebrow and the young man moved closer to the source.

Harry stopped and his instincts kicked in.

"Not going to fall for it," Harry hissed and he pulled back the rug to reveal switch underneath the floor.

"Oh, clever, but not clever enough, Granny," Tess said as she looked at the room. "The walls are rigged too, if we touch them, we're going to cause the floor to collapse."

"Right, and there are sensors if we use our powers," Harry remarked to her but he pulled out a portable device. "We're just going to have to do this the old fashion way. Chloe, you're up."

'_Gotcha,' _ Chloe commented in eager anticipation, one could almost see her rubbing her hands together with glee. _'Let's see how good the security of this orphanage really is.'_

'_Too good,' _Kara offered. _'I'm doing scouting above, so far no signs of hostility, but we all know how much that can change in a heartbeat.'_

'_Right, of course,' _Harry said absentmindedly as he kept his eyes peeled for any potential skullduggery. _'You and Karen are keeping an eye from above as Tess and I are moving in from the inside. And the League are in position, although they've got to move carefully.'_

'_Of course, we are,' _Diana stated from afar.

'_Keep on it, and everything will be….'_

"You are protecting her. You will give us to her."

Tess stood up straighter, chills ran down her spine and slowly but surely the woman turned around to see a group of girls standing there, intense glares in their eyes.

'_Of course….of course this happens,' _Tess thought to herself as she shook her head. _'These girls….they're here.'_

'_Stay sharp,' _Harry warned her and there was a sense that Tess was looking at him with a pained expression.

'_What do you think I've been doing all of this time?' _Tess thought but she had a weapon and she had an army of teenage girls facing her.

"You will deliver the one known as Hope to us and we may spare your lives," one of the girls stated in a far bolder voice than she should have had. She was a juvenile delinquent who had been given a second chance by Granny and taught a new way thanks to her tender loving care. There was a sense that all of them got that second chance. "I don't care who you are. I don't care what you can do. But you're going to hand her over to us."

Tess was not afraid of this bold declaration, in fact she was smiling. "Really, Granny has to send a bunch of teenyboppers to do her dirty work now?"

"We are to be taken seriously!" one of the girls snapped as her eyes flashed with anger and the other girls stood even straighter.

One of the girls tried to attack Tess but she dodged it and tripped the girl up like she was nothing.

These girls did not have powers; they were standard weapons to be used. Harry bound three of them just like that in a blink of an eye. The Shining Light Foundation would be getting a few more guests later on tonight but right now Harry just watched them as they fell to the ground.

'_They're just a distraction,' _Barda commented, as she was searching for Granny in her own way. She had a feeling that gargoyle was pretty close. _'Granny's Elite Guard will be coming for you, especially after you captured one of hers.'_

Tess pinched the neck of one of the girls which caused her to slump on the ground.

'_Thanks for the tip,' _Tess commented as Harry and herself continued to duke it out with these girls with the battle being short and ugly.

* * *

Hope showed up on the scene, she knew it in her mind that all of them were after her and while she could not help but feel that she was walking into a trap; she might be the key to end this, or at least set it up so that Harry could end it. There were a number of tense emotions that were going through her head, far too many for an average teenage girl to handle but somehow, she was able to keep a clear enough head to figure out what she needed to do next.

'_Okay, okay, you can certainly do this, I hope,' _Hope thought to herself, she couldn't help but note the irony of that statement considering her name.

She lifted her hand towards the door but she paused and stopped. She could not help but think that she was walking into a trap.

"Gotcha!"

Someone shoved a bag over her head. This statement caused Hope to freak out about as much as one would expect. Her eyes glowed and she felt a burst of power flow through her body!

"NO, NO ONE WILL LOCK ME A CAGE EVER AGAIN!" Hope screamed as she smashed the group of Furies down with one furious telekinetic attack.

"Subdue her, or you will be subdued forever!" Granny shouted, losing her kindly demeanor and looking like an extremely angry and ill tempered bulldog. She held a cane and smacked one of the girls in the shins causing them to go forward.

Hope dodged the attacks but a blonde blur came from the air and smacked one of Granny's goons in the back of the head.

"Oh, not so tough," Kara commented and Karen went hand to hand with another one of the Elite Guard members. She blocked a kick and then turned around, nailing her with a back hand punch of her own.

"Yeah, no offense, but I thought these Elite Guard….would be….I don't know, a bit more Elite," Karen suggested with a shrug.

"One would think that, but they're luring you into a false sense of security!" Barda commented as she smashed one of them down and then grabbed another in a front facelock cradle before slamming her down onto her knee. She dodged another attack and kneed her in the back of the head.

"Barda, my darling, how good to see you a…ARGH!"

"Cram it witch!" Barda snapped as she choked Granny down to the ground. In this vessel, she was a frail old lady, or that was the impression that she gave.

"No, really, did I teach you to be….you have forsaken us you nasty little girl, after all that Granny has done for…."

Barda curb stomped her onto the ground. Granny did strengthen this vessel a little bit although she was reminded that even in her standard form, Granny Goodness was not known for her strong hand to hand abilities.

"You're not going to win," Barda said through gritted teeth as she grabbed Granny by the throat once more and Kara and Karen continued to make short work of her Elite guard.

"But my dear, sweet dumpling, even if you kill me, I'll die knowing that I've already have," Granny muttered with a twisted grin, a few teeth loosened as blood dripped from her lower lip.

"What do you mean by that remark?" Barda demanded, her hands were this close to wrapping around her throat again and choking her to death it but Granny looked at her, with a grin that slowly widened across her face.

"Oh, Darkseid does not tolerate failure and he feels that Earth isn't a planet that deserves to last much longer for it has failed on the galactic scale," Granny told her, her grin got even wider as more blood splashed from her lips. Her teeth were severely loosened, to the point where her smile was really twisted. "It's coming, my sweet darling, even you cannot stop what is to come."

"The end," Harry breathed as he showed up and he saw Granny look up at him.

"You have tried to face the master, but even you cannot hope to defeat him. You are nothing but a flawed last ditch attempt to stop him, two entirely flawed halves crammed together in a whole that is even more flawed," Granny taunted him with malice. She watched him, her twisted and utterly broken smile wide across her face. "Darkseid is out of your league, child. If you believe that you can beat him. You must be more deluded then both of your broken parts."

Kara stomped Granny's head before she could continue to run her mouth further.

"Yeah...well...we might be deluded, but we're never going to stop fighting!" Kara cried to Granny as her eyes flared up and the woman stepped back.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Harry told Granny. "You don't get what we're capable of. You've never gotten what we're capable of."

"The League has lost favor with the World. The world is going to fall into hopelessness and despair there is no hope! There is only Darkseid!" Granny told them weakly as she stared up at them. This vessel was getting closer and closer to reaching its expiration point but as long as she could look up at them, she would do so with thinly veiled contempt.

"You'd be surprised how much we're capable of," Harry said as he looked in her eyes. "I'm not convinced you've ever gotten that."

"Perhaps, but….you're merely a child," Granny said to him.

"I've been branded as a child for years. By people who don't understand what I've been through," Harry said coolly. "I want you to understand this. From this moment in time, Granny Goodness. Understand that as long as I breathe. As long as blood pumps through my body. I'll keep fighting. As long as there is still one person left in the world worth saving, I will keep fighting. I will keep fighting until my final breath. I will keep fighting beyond the point of sanity. I WILL DEFEAT DARKSEID! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"

Harry smashed Granny over the skull with the energy scythe. He doubted that he could kill this one but he was sure that it broke the control she had over the vessel which was already dead the moment she opened her heart to Granny.

There was one sinister whisper that echoed through his head.

'_You have no chance, child.'_

Harry disagreed with it but he had never been one to conform to expectations.

* * *

Harry heard this one thought that resounded from the words of Darkseid. The words that he had no hope.

A while ago, he might have doubted himself but there was something about the fact that this would be his ultimate test. It was extremely interesting to say the very least, the young man watched with nerves resounding through the back of his head.

'_You have no chance child.'_

Harry Potter smiled, he had heard them mock him as being a child, like he did not understand. Both sides of himself in fact, had met those who had thought that they weren't ready but the fact of the matter was that he had ceased being a child a long time ago. There was a certain sense of responsibility that Harry was ready to undertake. His green eyes flashed and a huge smile went over his face.

"You're thinking about what you have to do now," Wanda commented as she showed up to join him. She wished that she could be out on the field but her powers were extremely weak at the moment. "He fought bravely but in the end. Even he got crushed by Darkseid."

Wanda smiled sadly at him after saying that but Harry shook his head.

"I know….I know but I'm not him. I'm not just Harry Potter. At least I'm not the one that you knew," Harry muttered as he looked out the window and saw the setting sun. He watched it, admiring the beauty.

"And we'll see the sun set many more times as long as you never give up."

Tess turned up to join Harry.

"LuthorCorp, it's the furthest thing from my mind right now. Harrison….well I'm not going to say that he can have it, but really when you think about everything that happened, losing that company isn't the worst thing that can happen," Tess suggested as she sat down next to Harry.

"You're lucky that you got away from her unscathed," Wanda said.

"I wouldn't call my current state exactly unscathed," Tess remarked dryly and Wanda had to shrug, that was an extremely valid point.

"True," Wanda agreed, there was tension that was going throughout her tone. There was a few seconds where she paused and then she got even tenser.

"It's a shame that I didn't get to rip her throat out but the fact that you beat her good. That's good enough for me," Laura said as she turned up. Her healing factor wasn't working properly. She sat down on the chair beside them.

"What are we waiting for?"

"Hope," Harry offered absentmindedly.

"The Phoenix Force is acting weird," Hope commented as she showed up. "It's almost like….well it's incomplete, I think my mother only gave me half of it."

Wanda knew Jean very well, considering the relationship that they had with their realities version of Harry. She knew the power that she could be capable of and also knew how she lost control very easily. "Where is the other part them?"

Harry frowned, there were a lot of things that were not adding up for him. Perhaps he was being a bit paranoid, in fact it was likely that he was being a lot paranoid. Yet, one should not confuse being paranoid for being prepared and that was what Harry was doing.

"When was the last time you saw your mother?" Harry asked and she turned towards him, nervously.

"It was….about a month before I woke up here….it was when he was rolling through," Hope informed him.

"Darkseid….might have corrupted a part of the Phoenix Force and didn't even know it," Harry said as he let out a breath. Hope's eyes widened at the thought of him corrupting something like the Phoenix Force.

She looked absolutely terrified out of her mind. It seemed so wrong that something like that happened but yet….yet it seemed obvious that it something she couldn't control. She felt a disconnect and her stomach curled in misery.

"Am I in any danger?" Hope asked Harry and he reached out, grabbing her hand then squeezing it reassuringly.

"Until Darkseid is finished off, we're all in danger," Harry told her and there was a second where Hope nodded her head. Her eyes went wide as she offered a deep breath and watched him.

"Yeah, I….I guessed that," Hope commented, she never felt so….well she never felt so hopeless, which was the ultimate irony given her name.

"Yes, you should have," Harry agreed, he did not mean to upset her. Hell, something like that, it had a potential of upsetting himself. He was just absolutely pants at comforting people. "Don't worry. We're going to figure this out, in fact we already are working on it."

"With Granny gone, Darkseid is going to make a move sooner rather than later," Barda said as she stepped forward. "And he's going to make that move, maybe a bit before he's ready."

Harry nodded, that was the game after all, he wanted to lure Darkseid out into the open so he could deal with him. The problem was there that Harry could tell that if Darkseid tried something, it would be all over just like that. Just as soon as the fingers snapped, it would be over.

Making him step into the light, that was a problem.

"The final test, the question is are you ready?"

Death was standing there next to Harry. Harry looked over his shoulder towards her.

"I feel like all life hinges on my ability to either win or lose this next battle with Darkseid," Harry told her.

"Not to put any pressure on you, but that's because it does," Death told Harry and there was a few seconds where both of them stared the other down.

"No, pressure or anything," Harry commented and Death smiled at him.

"Just remember if you lose, all hope is lost," Death said briskly. "We know what that means."

If Darkseid gets his hands on the Phoenix Force, well everything was done. Harry knew and he understood.

* * *

Slade Wilson was not going to give up his goals, after the VRA fell through to the floor. He thought that was more of a minor setback than anything. He was not going to fail, not in the slightest. He was going to win the day, he was going to win the next battle. That was what someone like him did, he won through strength and he had power.

Right now he walked up to the podium. The last rally did not go as planned but now with the world watching him, he was about ready to make his next move. Slade reached the microphone, it was in perfect working order.

"The Justice League once again made matters worse, by taking out an entire building to stop a group of super powered thugs," Slade lectured as he popped up several images on the screen. "I know some of you are prone to hero worship but the fact of the matter is, you can't deny that the League has caused more problems than they have caused solutions."

There was a sense that everyone present had their eyes on Slade.

"They need to be held accountable, just like the police, the army, and everyone else," Slade commented as he cracked his knuckles and watched the crowd and the members of the press buzzing around him.

"Mr. Wilson? Lois Lane here, of Daily Planet Communications."

'_Ah yes, Sam Lane's trouble making daughter, of course she would be here,' _Slade thought with disdain. What he wouldn't give to wrap his hands around her throat and squeeze the life out of her or worse, but he must remain calm and must not cave into his rage.

"Yes, Miss Lane, what is it?" Slade asked, there was an amount of faux politeness in his voice. There was a quality present in his vocal tone that more or less spelled out exactly what he wanted to do to her if he was able to get away with it.

"Well, I was wondering what your intentions truly are with the VRA? I mean, it's more or less been killed at both a political and civilian level, as the problems that it would have caused has been covered more or less ad nauseam in the press. Yet, here you are trying to resurrect it. Again," Lois inquired.

"My intentions are to create a safer world for us all, including reporters," Slade answered briskly, although people like that who questioned the United States government and their intentions, were cockroaches that should be eradicated.

"The Price of Freedom is a high one, but where do we draw the line? You seem to be trying to remove our civil liberties for some hidden purpose," Lois asked as she eyed Slade. "Are you intending to put these people into camps, thinking that all of the problems of the world will go away?"

"I feel that these people would team up with the Government and stand together, it would solve a lot of problems," Slade said, he appeared to be flustered, but only for a few seconds.

Lois could tell that she had Slade trapped in a corner and she was not going to let him dig himself out of it any time soon.

"Are you certain that you're not covering up your own past failures?" Lois asked him and Slade's eye narrowed towards her, a dangerous glint in it.

"What are you trying to…."

"Your son died in the meteor shower of 2005. When your team tried to respond to the crisis," Lois reminded him. "The heroes couldn't save him but the heroes cannot save everyone. The fact that they exist allows people to sleep a bit more soundly in their beds."

"Not all of us sleep as soundly, Miss Lane," Slade commented as he craned his neck forward. One son was physically and mentally disfigured in that Meteor Shower and the other one was dead. His daughter lost partial vision in one of her eyes as well.

"Maybe not, but not a lot of us sleep soundly without the government breathing down our necks and checking to make sure our pillows are up to regulation," Lois said with a smile on her face.

"Oh! I'll sleep soundly, when we actually move this plot along! God! Yak yak yak yak yak both of your arguments are nothing but circular debate!"

There was someone standing above them and Lois looked up into the sky in direction that the voice was coming from, there was a small amount of nerves that was going over her body. Her heart skipped another beat as she held her head up and took a careful look at the newest arrival to the party.

He was dressed in a black and red bodysuit, with sunken in white eyes. He dropped down onto the ground and held a pair of swords in his hands and he saw that the guards were going to go to him.

"No! Don't tase me! bro!" Deadpool yelled as he dodged the attacks by flipping backwards landing on his feet he tossed a grenade at them in a low underhand as if he was bowling. "And boom goes the dynamite!"

The ground beneath them exploded and Deadpool, without any care in the world and not even bothering to look back. Stabbed one running up behind him in the stomach then drew the blade upwards gutting him.

"Oh, don't be worried! They're nameless, faceless extras," Deadpool commented as he pulled the sword out from out of the guts of his hapless, nonimportant victim. "Sure my good friend Mr. Cobblepot, would like me to remember every one of them has a mother. Well, actually it would depend on which version of Ozzy in which continuity, we're talking about, but I'll send all of the body parts back, intact. Swear to god, and hope to die or rather Slade does."

"What do you want?"

"What do I want you non Rob Liefled created two-bit Deadpool mockery?!" Deadpool asked as he walked forward. "I want an entire hard drive of Golden Girls nude fakes and Slash Fiction, but I'd settle for your head on a platter."

Deadpool closed the distance and grabbed Slade but he was able to fight him off.

"Hey! We've got to save something for the next chapter! Not so rough!" Deadpool cried out as he shot Slade in the knee cap. He went down in a heap. "Bang! Down! Heel boy! Good dog!"

Deadpool kicked Slade in the ribs and forced him onto his knees.

"Who hired you?" Slade asked him.

"Well that is the seven point three billion dollar question, isn't it?" Deadpool commented. "It might be the most brilliant scheme ever and it's funny that you should ask that."

Deadpool paused and he waved his hand.

"That's your cue," Deadpool added.

**To Be Continued in the Next Chapter.**


	26. Chapter 26: Family Feud

**Chapter Twenty Six: Family Feud.**

"So, as I was saying last chapter, the reason why I'm going after you is quiet simple really, even a child could figure it out," Deadpool said with a wide grin underneath his mask as he looked down upon Slade with thinly veiled contempt. His narrowed eyes flashed with anger and frustration as he kicked him hard in the ribs. "Even though you were created first and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-But-Draws-Me-With-Massive-Breast created me as a rip off of you, but let's not get into that. I see the person before me, as a pretender, a fraud if you will, someone who was trying to do the best out there at that what they do and what they do isn't very nice, but they're going to fail, and you're going to fail, big time, because believe me buddy you're no skunk bear."

Deadpool's eyes flashed with even more anger and he offered one more statement of malice, one final word, and then it was go time. The Merc with the Mouth looked around and he held up the guns as he was surrounded by people who were going to take a shot at him.

"Don't!….Don't think that you're going to get away, oh no, not today, not ever….OMFG! It's Lois Fucking Lane! I loved you in House of the Dead!...Well to be accurate I loved your tits in it! House of the Dead was a cinematic abortion," Deadpool said as he grabbed a blinking Lois around the neck in a headlock and pointed a gun to her head, but he knew that she could break free. If she wanted to blow her cover "So are you here, to see the demise of Slade Wilson?"

"Yeah…um demise, that's it," Lois muttered as she closed her eyes. She somehow managed to keep it together and not blow her cover.

'_Harry! Are you seeing this on the television?__' _Lois asked him and Harry did not take too long to confirm that he was.

'_I'll be there in a flash. Don't worry, I'm coming,' _Harry thought to Lois as he tried to speed up. _'We might run into a lot of problems on the way,__ but we're going to be there. __I promise,__ so just keep him talking.'_

Lois got the sense that keeping him talking was not going to be a problem, it wasn't going to be a problem at all. He rambled more then herself, Chloe and Kara when they got hammered. Her heart kept thumping within her chest and she closed her eyes. _'Yeah, I don't think that's really going to be that much of a problem.'_

"You know, it's pretty fucking rude to talk about people like that, when they're standing right next to you," Deadpool, reprimanded as he held one of his sword out and teased her with it. There was a sense that he was nuts enough to stab it through her without a care in the world. He watched Lois flinch with a crazed expression dancing in his eyes. "Next time….next time….you're going to suffer….suffer pain the likes of…"

Lois decided this was getting way too emo for her. So, she shot a blast of heat vision at his hand while his head was turned away and then she did a forward roll. Grabbing the katana with her feet she then pulled it from his hand.

"Hey! That's not really fair! No way in hell she's that well trained! So far all she's done with her powers over the past three books was show up. Act tough. Get her ass kicked. Be saved by Harry! To think that I fapped to her," Deadpool whined, putting his hand on his belt before he prepared to attack her but he saw the VRA guards walk towards him. They mandated his attention. "Oh boy! Oh boy! It looks like a stand off, insanity, and all that other dramatic stuff. Oh this is not going to be fun."

He looked from one side to the other and then he came to the conclusion. He pulled out a pair of sais, twirled them in his fingers and threw them up into the air, causing a distraction.

"Time to improvise!" Deadpool cheered as he dodged the charging guards. He deflected a set of grenades that hurled through the air at him by spin kicking them like a hacky sack back in the direction they came from. Ducking his head, he dove forwards in a roll to hand spring off the ground and up into the air dodging another set of attacks.

Pulling out one of his swords, he swiped it to the side cutting through a rope which released a tarp to drop down on the VRA goons.

Outside of the hall, Harry arrived on the scene, joined by Kara, Karen, and Diana. Shayera, Zatanna, and Courtney turned up shortly after. Artemis was across the street on a nearby rooftop using her bow to cover them and offer ranged support.

"FREEZE!"

'_Are they dense?' _Harry thought to himself, as he ran a couple scenarios through his head as to how he should go about solving this problem. There were a few moments where he took careful stock of them, unable to believe what they were going to most likely do. As the young wizard scoped out the situation, Kara sighed knowing that there was going to be trouble.

"Put your hands in the air! Where we can see them!" the leader commanded although his hands were shaking as he was tried to get a hold of himself.

"I don't think so," Harry told them as he closed his eyes and prepared to defend himself. The guards opened fire on the group but a shield popped up. The bullets connected with the shield and pushed them back before it caused them to melt into molten lead. Harry narrowed his eyes at the guards after that display of his power. "Just stand back and let me do my job. There's a nutcase on the loose. I don't think that any of you want to get killed."

"….If you want a fight though, we'll be happy to give it to you," Shayera remarked as she swung the mace that she had in her hand and stared them down, daring them to attack. Their guns were pointed at the entire group.

"Just stand aside," the leader of the group commanded. Courtney, losing her patience at the stand off aimed her staff in their direction and blasted the guns out of their hands.

'_Kara, Karen, you're with me. The rest of you keep them distracted. We're going to deal with that fucking psychopath__,' _Harry commented as he looked over his shoulder towards the girls.

'_Right. I'm on it,' _Diana responded as a few more soldiers made their way onto the scene wearing fairly heavy duty body armor and fire blasts of plasma in the League's direction. She moved in front of the group and used her bracelets to reflect the attacks back at their point of origin.

Harry, Kara, and Karen flew towards the entrance and they saw a grenade flying through the air. The younger blonde squinted her eyes and blasted the grenade out of the way with her heat vision. Causing a huge explosion as the grenade exploded in midair.

"Got that one!" Kara called out excitedly. Another grenade flew through the air towards them and the blonde caught it, crushing it in her hand. There was a small explosion and the blonde's heart sped up a little bit.

"KRYPTONITE!" Karen screamed as there was a few blades that were shot in every single direction.? There was an instant where the blonde stopped and stared. Her heart sped up a tiny bit due to her reaction to the modified Kryptonite. She was trying to keep her shielding on. "Don't let it touch you…."

"Got it," Harry said as he lazily transfigured the offending items into paper air planes. They flew lazily through the air for a short distance before hitting the ground.

Kara, Karen, and Harry held their heads up as they moved forwards. The trio of Heralds knew that they were running out of time and they knew that the longer the Merc with the Mouth stuck around. The longer there were going to be a lot of problems.

"Keep going!" Harry yelled to the two girls and both of them nodded, as they slipped through the entrance.

* * *

"Oooh! The excitement! The drama! This is electrifying! I'm all tingly in my crotch region!" Deadpool yelled excitedly voice as he pumped his fist into the air. There was a few seconds where he paused, grinned, then he pumped his fist in the air again. "That should keep them at bay."

As Deadpool waited impatiently for the heroes to arrive. He saw Slade getting up behind him from the corner of his eye. There was a combat dagger in his hand that was prepped to stab the Merc with the Mouth but he blocked it.

"NO STABBY TIME FOR YOU!" Deadpool yelled directly into Slade's face, so close that he would have sprayed him with spittle if he wasn't wearing a mask. He dodged a few devious follow up stabs from the dagger, swaying back and forth as if he was dancing. The Merc with the Mouth avoided a few more stabs before suddenly doing a back flip and kicking Slade in the chin. He picked up one of his discarded swords and then landing on his feet pointed it in Slade's direction. The two of them prepared to go face to face with each other. "Okay! You wanna get nuts? Come on! Let's get nuts! You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

"You little psychopath! I'll cut you to pieces!" Slade growled out as he lost himself to his rage. He raised the dagger to try and nail Deadpool in the chest.

"You know, name calling is pretty fucking rude!" Deadpool cried out as he pulled two guns from their holsters but Slade was able to force him to drop one by slashing the tendons in his wrist. Them promptly disarmed him of the other and take it for himself. Neither of them were about to back down any time soon.

"I will annihilate you. You fucking psychopath!" Slade yelled out in anger, losing all sense of himself. He was not about to go down that easily. He pointed the gun at him and tried to blow Deadpool's brains out. But the Merc with the Mouth ducked his head down at the last moment the bullet barely missing him. He then kicked up into the air and rolled out from underneath his assault.

"You know, rudeness is something that you should really avoid," Deadpool said lightly. "You might live a lot longer and make a lot more friends….although you don't have my wonderful personality, do you?"

Deadpool tried to make with the stabby time on Slade, but the other man was able to block the shot.

Lois watched the battle with wide eyes. It was like one of those car crashes that she could not quite look away from. She kept her eyes on the battle at hand and the car crash mentality of it mentality of it reared itself again and again. She watched in thinly disguised awe and her eyes remained locked on both men trying to stab the hell out of each other. The fight was getting a bit too violent.

"So should we get involved?" Harry asked turning up behind her out of nowhere. Lois gave out a yelp of shock due to his sudden appearance as she jumped about three feet into the air. She leveled a glare at him from over her shoulder, before a smile crossed her face that answered that question.

"Why even bother?" Lois asked as she watched them attempt to gut each other but both blocked each other. "They're doing plenty."

Harry couldn't help but agree with that fact, so Kara, Karen and himself decided to get the civilians out of there. None of them were willing to move, they were paralyzed with fear. The blonde and the dark haired Heralds of Death maneuvered themselves into the air and plucked the civilians off of the ground in an attempt to carry them out of there. They allowed the three Heralds of Death to pull them out of harm's way as the battle between Slade and Wade continued.

Wade picked up a huge gun and put in over his shoulder. Taking a moment to aim it carefullym he pulled the trigger and launched a series of shots at Slade. Who deflected the attacks and responded in kind, violently slashing at this miserable bastard.

Harry looked up and saw another person show up to join the party. To be honest, he was wondering when she would turn up. She was made her way into the battle and Harry knew that things were going to get even more insane.

'_Harry, I've picked up several thermal energy signatures below you__….keep on your guard,' _Chloe warned him urgently and Harry heard footsteps behind him. He flicked several discs above his shoulders and there was a huge explosion as they exploded with concussive force knocking the armored soldiers out.

He then brought his hands up in an easy guard and drilled his enemy with a few punches. The armored soldiers were built to be able to deal with super strength.

"I'll put you down!" the soldier growled as he lifted up two hammer like hands but Kara and Karen grabbed them allowing Harry to finish off the adversary. His rocket buster of a punch rattled the goon in the ribs and caused him to collapse the ground.

"That's not going to happen," Harry stated as he took down his enemy.

"We'll see," the goon grunted out but Kara used one finger to knock him out, Just. Like. That.

"Oh, this is getting interesting!" Deadpool crowed out as Ravager made her way into the fight and tried to take her enemy down with a few vicious swipes, several of which where aimed at both man's groins. "Oh! You want to play dirty? You know, that's why I normally don't fight females. They fight dirty, really dirty! They're such dirty, dirty, girls!"

Deadpool did a running flip towards hers and grabbed her around the head. With one swift motion, he ripped her mask off as he descended.

The face of Rose Wilson was revealed to an extremely shocked Slade, his eyes widening in horror as he watched her.

"My own daughter!" Slade asked her. "You'd betray me like this?"

"You betrayed yourself with this crusade. It was your fault that they died!" Rose yelled as she looked at Slade but he fingered a weapon in his hand.

"Ah, this is touching," Deadpool mockingly cooed but Rose jumped up and knocked him down with a vicious punch to the back of the neck. She drove her knee into the back of his head and gripped him in an armbar, then wrenched on his neck.

"Who hired you?" she demanded, wrapping her hands around his throat but he kicked her off.

"It should be obvious who hired me. It's the person who most wants to see the Vigilante Protection Act destroyed!" Deadpool shouted, as he tried to grab Rose but she stabbed him in the chest. "Oh, that hurt, and we were supposed to be siblings….separated by a different…universe."

Slade shot his daughter in the shoulder with a tranquilizer dart and she dropped to her knees, feeling weakness spread rapidly through her body as her pupils became dilated. He looked at her with disdain.

"You're a disappointment to me, and now you've embarrassed me!" Slade said icily as he lifted up the sword but Deadpool blocked it.

"The two of us! We have some unfinished business," Deadpool commented as he continued to duke it out with Slade.

Harry made his way in and was ready to join in on this battle.

* * *

Perhaps, it was just Harry but he felt like some kind of demented monkey caught in the middle of this fight between Slade and this Deadpool guy.

'_One of these things is just not like the other and I guess that thing is me,' _Harry thought to himself as he watched things unravel. _'Well, this has the potential to suck.'_

Harry shook his head, and rushed forward to engage the two men in battle.

"Hey! You know it's rude to cut in without permission!" Deadpool yelled as he tried to stab Harry.

"Sorry, didn't have a chance to brush up on my manners!"

Slade tried to shoot Harry and Deadpool at the same time. Both dodged and bounced back, with Deadpool throwing a dagger at Slade who ducked his head and flipped out of the way, landing on his feet.

"You know! You're the real rude one, breaking up the banter like that," Deadpool criticized but then he paused. "You know, I've been saying that people are rude all this chapter perhaps….ah screw this…."

Slade shot Deadpool in the back of the neck, and blew his head completely off. Blood splattered everywhere along with his decapitated head.

"Now. That. That, was really fucking rude you one eyed Big Boss looking motherfucking asshole," Deadpool's decapitated head grumbled. "That's it, pick me up, put me back on….ah that's the good thing about inheriting the old healing factor from the hirsute burrowing mammal with machetes growing out of his wrists, isn't it?"

'_I wonder who he inherited the mouth from,__' _Kara thought in a half amused and half bemused manner.

'_Just keep focused Kara,'_Harry warned her as he could see that things were getting more intense.

'_Right, of course, of course,' _Kara thought as she clenched her eyes shut and felt a ringing go through her head. She had to focus because if she didn't focus, well things were going to screw up big time in a hurry. _'I can do this, Karen and I almost have everyone out.'_

"So…." Deadpool said and he paused. "Lost my train of thought….actually do you realize how really rude it is to do the bond talky thing in the middle of a scene. You grow silent and just kind of stare with unblinking eyes….and how it's creepy it is? Really children of the corn type shit right there. People do notice it too, so half the time they think you're about to have a stroke."

Harry was going to pretend that he did not hear this guy. Mostly because he was the type of person that would give him a splitting headache, if he thought about what he said too much. Regardless, the wizard was about ready to fight him hand to hand or at least as close as they could get to it. Harry circled his enemy, ready to rock and roll against him.

"Come on," Harry told him fiercely.

"No, you come on!" Deadpool taunted him and it was obvious this Merc with the Mouth was trying to get under Harry's skin.

Slade shot at both of them but Ravager got up, knocking the gun out of his hand. She kicked him in the face once again and grabbed him around the arm. He countered by grabbing her by the hair and flipping her hard onto the ground.

'_Okay, I'm confused,' _Lois thought to Harry.

'_Welcome to my world,' _Harry thought back to her and he kept pushing forward, even though it was past the point of what might have passed for sanity.

'_Okay….yeah,' _Kara said.

'_Everyone's out!" _Karen cheered in a triumphant tone and there was a second where the triumph did fade from her voice.

'_And I'm sensing that there should be an asterisk next to that point,' _Harry commented, breathing heavily.

Naturally, it would not be that simple, naturally, the nutcase Merc with the Mouth would have planted something. And naturally, it would have been a bomb.

'_Son of a bitch, you son of a bitch, you son of a bitch,' _Harry cursed, he wondered how much more screwed up his luck could be.

Then he remembered that he was Harry Potter and the answer to that question would be extremely screwed up. That's just the way that his life was, even if he was Harry Potter or Kal-El or Har-Rell. Still, there was no need to crack underneath the pressure, even though it seemed like the easiest thing in the world to do. He needed to focus and he would win, that was what he did.

Of course, he could focus a hell of a lot better without those two lunatics shooting at each other.

"Oh, this is going to be….."

Kara punched him in the face. Deadpool tried to land face first into Karen's breasts but she picked him up and hurled him through a glass window.

"HEY!….Healing Factor or not, that hurts like a bitch!" Deadpool screamed as the glass impaled into his neck but he pulled it out and tried to stab Slade with it. "YAY, MORE STABBY TIME!"

Harry shook his head, because really all that was what he could do. He found the bomb, he held the bomb.

He had to cut the wires in the right order. Even with magic, if the wrong wire was triggered, it could lead to an extremely big bang. There was nothing like being put in the pressure cooker. He closed his eyes and then opened them in a squint. X-Ray vision allowed him to focus and he was about to use his heat vision to cut the wires into nothing.

'_Okay, this is messed up, really messed up, just focus Harry, just do, and you'll get these things done, yet again,' _Harry said and sure enough he did do what he said he was going to do.

The wires were cut and Deadpool's eyes widened and there was one statement that shot out of his mouth. He could talk faster than a speeding bullet.

"HOW DID YOU DO IT?" Deadpool demanded.

'_Um, this is his story, read the character list,' _one of the voices in Deadpool's head informed him.

_'Wait...isn't he a fucking Wizard?' _One of the voices questioned in a voice that made it sound like an anal-retentive eleven year old school girl with a book stuffed up her ass and an authority complex._ 'Because if so why didn't he just vanish it completely or banish it into a volcano?"_

'_Hey, no comments from the Peanut Gallery,' _Deadpool said half sternly and half angrily.

'_Okay, we're so shutting up,' _one of the voices in Deadpool's head commented in a cheerful tone.

'_Yes, please do….oh shit that's a big fucking gun,' _Deadpool groaned as he saw the gun pointed at his face and Slade was about ready to nail him.

Well if he went down, then he was bringing this whole fucking joint down to the ground with him. That was something that he could take to the bank.

"EXPLOSION!" He yelled out in demented glee as he clicked the detonator.

There was a huge explosion, which Harry, Kara, and Karen had to block using their powers, helping Lois and Rose out of there.

The next thing they knew, there was a huge crater in the ground and the two psychopaths were missing.

"Again, I ask, what just happened?" Lois asked Harry but there was no response.

* * *

"What do you think happened to my father?" Rose asked as she winced. She did not bruise easily but still getting knocked around hurt a lot even though the pain was not as much as it could have been.

"No body, so he slipped out the back door," Harry offered and Rose nodded, her father was annoyingly resourceful. "But you know your father far better than I do, don't you?"

Rose could not resist offering Harry a grin. "All too well."

"He could have killed you, with that stunt you pulled," Harry told her and Rose shook her head.

"He wouldn't have done anything that drastic, at least I don't think he would have. He would have drugged and brainwashed me. He likes to do that to young girls." Rose said but there was that one moment of indecision in her voice that made Harry wonder if she was trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince him. There was just this look in her eyes that made Harry wonder.

"Well, you never truly know the people close to you," Harry offered as he checked her for any lasting effects.

"That Deadpool nutcase….I wonder what his problem was," Rose said and there was a moment where Harry smiled.

"Many," Harry offered as he shook his head. There was a man with issues, even more than Harry had and that was saying something since he had a lot already, then he inherited Clark's.

Harry thought that self-awareness was the first step to self-improvement, as long as a process as that was.

"The bright side is that people are backing off the support to try and implement the VRA," Lois said as she stepped from where she watched around the corner. "Your heroics, they did the trick, I think."

"Of course, they did," Harry said with a smile crossing his face as he watched her. "It just goes to show you that eventually people's eyes will be opened. Although, it's a sad thing that many of them are not running for government office."

"That was a very cynical….but sadly true statement," Lois commented grimly as she thought about it. There was just something about that…..well the problems with the government were not exactly hidden. "Wow, you've….so Slade….what do you think happened to him?"

"We found no body," Harry told Lois and he eyed the reporter. "And you know what that means…."

"He's still out there somewhere. He's lost a lot of favor though, even Godfrey won't touch him," Lois confirmed and she could not help but smirk at this.

Harry shook his head, while Harrison had mostly put a muzzle put on Godfrey. He was emphasizing the Leagues failures without calling for the VRA. Of course, there were a lot of people now who were seeing the VRA for what it was. Harry had been running counter programming in case it ever slipped by through the cracks ever again.

"So, I guess I owe you, big time," Rose said with a whistle as she left in one breath and let out another breath.

"Well, I wouldn't….actually what do you have in mind?" Harry asked her.

"You saved my life and my father…..flawed as he might be, was not going to allow me to pass up my debts," Rose commented as she sat on the edge of the examining table. "Given how much Daddy hated you. This will be so fun."

She wrapped her arms around him and Harry felt her firm breasts, covered only by a tight top, press against his chest. The two of them smiled at each other as Rose wrapped her legs as tight around Harry waist as they would go and she pushed forward towards him.

"So how about it, are you as fast at love making, as you are on your feet?" Rose asked with a purr as she looked at him, lustful intentions dancing through her eyes.

"Hmmm, wouldn't you like to know?" Harry asked the girl as he dipped her down and planted a chaste kiss on the side of her neck which she shivered from.

"Yes, I'd….like to know, very much," she agreed and Harry pressed himself against her, continuing the kissing.

"Oh, this is going to be….amazing," Rose breathed as Harry kissed the side of her neck and then pushed his hands underneath her top.

**Smut/Lemon Begins.**

-PROFILE-

**Smut/Lemon Ends.**

Harry watched as Lois and Rose rested on the table, utterly wrecked and that was a thought that had to make him smile just a little bit, watching their chests rise and fall. He had done his damage on them and he had to be pleased.

"You know the storm is coming."

Alex turned up stepping out of the shadows at that point.

"The final chapter. This is how it starts, Darkseid's final gambit," Alex said to him in what would be a cryptic tone to those who were not in the know.

"Yes, I know. I know very well," Harry agreed with her as he looked out the window. There was something a bit off putting about how the sun was rising over the horizon today. Perhaps, he was being a bit paranoid but he thought that he was being paranoid for an extremely good reason.

"Do you?" Alex asked and there was a moment where she locked eyes with her brother, looking more serious than she ever had before.

"Yes, Alex. I read it as well. The next battle will be a pivotal one and my head is on about as straight as it's going to be," Harry said and then he paused, turning over and looking her straight in the eye. "Do you have your head on straight?"

"Yes, I have my head on. I don't have Clark or Kal-El's thoughts and emotions running through my mind like you do," Alex told him, she was almost offended that he would have thought differently but given the past. She could see where his concern was coming on. "We are Heralds, we have to be united, because if we are not united…."

"I understand," Harry said as she struggled to find the words. He looked out into the distance. Again, there was something about the sun that was extremely eerie that he could not put his finger on precisely why.

All he knew was this was going to be the time for him to step up, whether or not he was ready. He had won a few minor battles but the war was still going to go on until the end.

Until his final breath, he was going to keep fighting, no matter what, no matter how many times he was going to step up, he was going to keep going at it. The young wizard was going to stand up.

It was time to be what the world needed, a hero to deliver them from the darkness.

* * *

While the force of the Light. The champion of the people. The hero that the world needed even if they did not know they needed him, prepared, so did the specter of darkness. The one who would roll over the world, no matter what the cost might have been.

Wilson Fisk smoked a cigar and realized all of the losses that he suffered. The line between Fisk and Darkseid had been blurred to the point where they might as well have been turned into one and the same. He was no longer a mere avatar.

"How did he….how did he succeed this much?"

Then he grinned, the battle was going to happen. His glowing red eyes flared with a little bit of madness as he thought about it. The one time that he went up against Har-Rell, he could not even hold his own. Even though this vessel had flaws, many of them, it was completely strong.

His strength was going to crush them and there was a second where he thought that even the hope he looked to undermine was going to crush him as well.

The power was something that tempted even the most benevolent of men and it was the power that would allow the Darkness to deliver him. An echo resounded around him and he prepared for his next move.

It was a battle where he was going to win and he was going to crush anyone underneath his foot. His sadistic grin spread over his face, offering a rotting smile as he watched the sun.

It was beautiful in how twisted it was. He could tell that this sunrise was something that would put some dread in the hearts of even the toughest of men and that was an element that fueled his powers. The more despair in the world, the more excited he became.

He could feel the Phoenix Force and the former possessor of it that he held captive in his grasp, all he had to figure out was a way to fully comprehend it. There was a few seconds where he paused.

It will be his.

It was always meant be his, that was something that he could certainly say with picture perfect clarity.

In three days, his legions would arrive. The Furies, they were able to spread throughout the world. He had several people who were trying to sour heroes, villains that he gave a little bit of power in exchange for them causing havoc. All to make the world lose their faith in heroes and slowly it was happening, one step at a time.

His eyes flared, red eyes, the Omega effect hummed as it flickered through them. There was a second where he stood up straight and calculated the probability of what was going to happen.

Soon, he would release his legions into the world and he would crush anyone who would stand in his way. They would be enslaved, or perhaps killed if he was feeling merciful. It was rare but it was extremely possible.

He saw the flaring red star but it was not only any red star. It was the proof that his efforts had weakened the barriers between the two worlds. His grin cracked over his face, malice spreading across it.

His followers had suffered a small setbacks but sometimes you had to lose a battle before winning an even bigger war. That was the proof that he needed to ensure his victory. The face of darkness stood with glowing eyes and sadistic intentions.

He stepped forward and he could see people who had been tainted by the darkness and that darkness was getting stronger by each passing day. There was really nothing that could be done, the hero was not going to save the day, not this time. The emerald eyes of the Harry Potter that faced him in the last reality. Darkseid saw something nothing of the strength that once resided in them in the eyes of the twisted jigsaw puzzle that was supposed to oppose him here.

He saw fear and he had tasted it, consuming it fully would be completely and utterly sweet.

He would lead to destruction of everyone, his glowing eyes flared a few moments and he took another step forward.

There were a pair of robed figures that stood before him. They stepped closer then dropped to their knees to look up at him. Darkseid watched them, he could see their power glowing through your eyes.

"You understand the plan, I trust," Darkseid breathed to them, his sinister tone echoing.

"Yes."

No one could stop him, no Herald would be able to stop him. That was a fact that the Darkness would take to the bank. He craned his neck up a little bit and just watched, he was going to have to wait and he was going to have to summon all of his power.

**To Be Continued in the Next Chapter.**


End file.
